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HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ 
WOODS. 


BY 

BRET   HARTE. 


BOSTON: 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY. 

New  York:    11    East  Seventeenth   Street. 

(STfie  Ritoets'tbe  $re££,  «Tamfcri&0e. 


Copyright.  1^">. 
BY  KOUGIITUN,  Mil' FUN  &  CO. 

All  riylds  reserved. 


The  "Riverside  Press,  Cambridge: 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  II.  0.  Houghton  &  Co. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  sun  was  going  down  on  the  Carqui- 
nez  Woods.  The  few  shafts  of  sunlight  that 
had  pierced  their  pillared  gloom  were  lost 
in  unfathomable  depths,  or  splintered  their 
ineffectual  lances  on  the  enormous  trunks 
of  the  redwoods.  For  a  time  the  dull  red 
of  their  vast  columns,  and  the  dull  red  of 
their  cast-off  bark  which  matted  the  echo- 
less  aisles,  still  seemed  to  hold  a  faint 
glow  of  the  dying  day.  But  even  this 
soon  passed.  Light  and  color  fled  upwards. 
The  dark  interlaced  tree-tops,  that  had  all 
day  made  an  impenetrable  shade,  broke  into 
fire  here  and  there;  their  lost  spires  glit 
tered,  faded,  and  went  utterly  out.  A  weird 


4  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

twilight  that  did  not  come  from  the  outer 
world,  but  seemed  born  of  the  wood  itself, 

slowly  filled  and  possessed  the  aisles.  The 
Straight,  tall,  colossal  trunks  rose  dimly  like. 
columns  of  upward  smoke.  The  few  fallen 
trees  stretched  their  huge  length  into  ob 
scurity,  and  seemed  to  lie  on  shadowy  tres 
tles.  The  strange  breath  that  filled  these 
mysterious  vaults  had  neither  coldness  nor 
moisture ;  a  dry,  fragrant  dust  arose  from 
the  noiseless  foot  that  trod  their  bark-strewn 
floor  ;  the  aisles  might  have  been  tombs,  the 
fallen  trees  enormous  mummies  ;  the  silence 
the  solitude  of  a  forgotten  past. 

And  yet  this  silence  was  presently  bro 
ken  by  a  recurring  sound  like  breathing,  in 
terrupted  occasionally  by  inarticulate  and 
stertorous  gasps.  It  was  not  the  quick, 
panting,  listening  breath  of  some  stealthy 
feline  or  canine  animal,  but  indicated  a 
larger,  slower,  and  more  powerful  organiza 
tion,  whose  progress  was  less  watchful  and 
guarded,  or  as  if  a  fragment  of  one  of  the 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  5 

fallen  monsters  had  become  animate.  At 
times  this  life  seemed  to  take  visible  form, 
but  as  vaguely,  as  misshapenly,  as  the  phan 
tom  of  a  nightmare.  Now  it  was  a  square 
object  moving  sideways,  endways,  with  nei 
ther  head  nor  tail  and  scarcely  visible  feet ; 
then  an  arched  bulk  rolling  against  the 
trunks  of  the  trees  and  recoiling  again,  or 
an  upright  cylindrical  mass,  but  always  os 
cillating  and  unsteady,  and  striking  the 
trees  on  either  hand.  The  frequent  occur 
rence  of  the  movement  suggested  the  figures 
of  some  weird  rhythmic  dance  to  music 
heard  by  the  shape  alone.  Suddenly  it 
either  became  motionless  or  faded  away. 

There  was  the  frightened  neighing  of  a 
horse,  the  sudden  jingling  of  spurs,  a  shout 
and  outcry,  and  the  swift  apparition  of  three 
dancing  torches  in  one  of  the  dark  aisles  ; 
but  so  intense  was  the  obscurity  that  they 
shed  no  light  on  surrounding  objects,  and 
seemed  to  advance  of  their  own  volition 
without  human  guidance,  until  they  disap- 


6  AY   THE   CARCiriXF.Z    WOODS. 

pcarccl  suddenly  behind  the  interposing  bulk 
of  one  of  the  largest  trees.  Beyond  its 
eighty  feet  of  circumference  the  light  could 
not  roach,  and  the  gloom  remained  inscruta 
ble.  But  the  voices  and  jingling  spurs  were 
heard  distinctly. 

"  Blast  the  mare !  She 's  shied  off  that 
cursed  trail  again." 

"  Ye  ain't  lost  it  agin,  hevye?"  growled 
a  second  voice. 

"That's  jist  what  I  hev.  And  these 
blasted  pine-knots  don't  give  light  an  inch 

beyond  'cm.  D d  if  I  don't  think  they 

make  this  cursed  hole  blacker." 

There  was  a  lauurh  — a  woman's  lausrh  — 

O  O 

hysterical,  bitter,  sarcastic,  exasperating. 
The  second  speaker,  without  heeding  it, 
\\rrt  on  :  — 

"  What  in  thunder  skeort  the  hosses  ? 
Did  you  see  or  hear  anything?" 

u  Nothin*.    The  wood  is  like  a  graveyard." 
The    woman's    voice    again   broke    into  a 
bourse,  contemptuous  laugh.     The  man  re 
sumed   angrily  :  — 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  7 

"  If  you  know  anything,  why  in  h — 11 
don't  you  say  so,  instead  of  cackling  like  a 

d d  squaw  there  ?  P'raps  you  reckon 

you  ken  find  the  trail  too." 

"  Take  this  rope  off  my  wrist,"  said  the 
woman's  voice,  "untie  my  hands,  let  me 
down,  and  I  '11  find  it."  She  spoke  quickly 
and  with  a  Spanish  accent. 

It  was  the  men's  turn  to  laugh.  "  And 
give  you  a  show  to  snatch  that  six-shooter 
and  blow  a  hole  through  me,  as  you  did  to 
the  Sheriff  of  Calaveras,  eh?  Not  if  this 
court  understands  itself,"  said  the  first  speak 
er  dryly. 

"  Go  to  the  devil,  then,"  she  said  curtly. 

"  Not  before  a  lady,"  responded  the  other. 
There  was  another  laugh  from  the  men,  the 
spurs  jingled  again,  the  three  torches  reap 
peared  from  behind  the  tree,  and  then  passed 
away  in  the  darkness. 

For  a  time  silence  and  immutability  pos 
sessed  the  woods  ;  the  great  trunks  loomed 
upwards,  their  fallen  brothers  stretched  their 


8  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

slow  length  into  obscurity.  The  sound  of 
breathing  again  became  audible  :  the  shape 
reappeared  in  the  aisle,  and  reeonnneneed 
its  mystic  dance.  Presently  it  was  lost  in 
the  shadow  of  the  largest  tree,  and  to  the 
sound  of  breathing  succeeded  a  grating  and 
scratching  of  bark.  Suddenly,  as  if  riven 
by  lightning,  a  flash  broke  from  the  centre 
of  the  tree-trunk,  lit  up  the  woods,  and  a 
sharp  report  rang  through  it.  After  a  pause 
the  jingling  of  spurs  and  the  dancing  of 
torches  were  revived  from  the  distance. 
"Hallo?" 
No  answer. 

"  Who  fired  that  shot  ?  " 
But  there  >vas  no  reply.     A  slight  veil  of 
smoke  passed  away  to  the  right,  there  was 
the  spice  of  gunpowder  in  the  air,  but  noth 
ing  more. 

The  torches  came  forward  again,  but  this 
time  it  could  be  seen  they  were  held  in  the 
hands  of  two  men  and  a  woman.  The  woman's 
hands  were  tied  at  the  wrist  to  the  horse-hair 


IN  THE   CARQUJNEZ  WOODS.  9 

reins  of  her  mule,  while  a  riata,  passed 
around  her  waist  and  under  the  mule's  girth, 
was  held  by  one  of  the  men,  who  were  both 
armed  with  rifles  and  revolvers.  Their 
frightened  horses  curveted,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  they  could  be  made  to  advance. 

"  Ho !  stranger,  what  are  you  shooting  at  ?  " 

The  woman  laughed  and  shrugged  her 
shoulders.  "  Look  yonder  at  the  roots  of 

the  tree.  You  're  a  d d  smart  man  for 

a  sheriff,  ain't  you?" 

The  man  uttered  an  exclamation  and 
spurred  his  horse  forward,  but  the  animal 
reared  in  terror.  He  then  sprang  to  the 
ground  and  approached  the  tree.  The  shape 
lay  there,  a  scarcely  distinguishable  bulk. 

"  A  grizzly,  by  the  living  Jingo  !  Shot 
through  the  heart." 

It  was  true.  The  strange  shape  lit  up  by 
the  flaring  torches  seemed  more  vague,  un 
earthly,  and  awkward  in  its  dying  throes, 
3^et  the  small  shut  eyes,  the  feeble  nose,  the 
ponderous  shoulders,  and  half-human  foot 


10  JN  THE   CARdUlNEZ    WOODS. 

armed  with  powerful  claws  were  unmistak 
able.  The  men  turned  by  n  common  im 
pulse  and  peered  into  the  remote  recesses  of 
the  wood  again. 

"  Hi,  Mister !  come  and  pick  up  your  game. 
Hallo  there!" 

The  challenge  fell  unheeded  on  the  empty 
woods. 

"  And  yet,"  said  he  whom  the  woman  had 
called  the  sheriff,  "  he  can't  be  far  off.  It 
was  a  close  shot,  and  the  bear  hez  dropped 
in  his  tracks.  Why,  wot's  this  sticking  in 
his  claws?" 

The  two  men  bent  over  the  animal. 
"Why,  it's  sugar,  brown  sugar  —  look!' 
There  was  no  mistake.  The  huge  beast's 
fore  paws  and  muzzle  were  streaked  with 
the  unromantic  household  provision,  and 
heightened  the  absurd  contrast  of  its  incoii- 
gruous  members.  The  woman,  apparently 
indifferent,  had  taken  that  opportunity  to 
partly  free  one  of  her  wrists. 

"  If  we  had  n't  been  cavorting  round  this 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS.  11 

yer  spot  for  the  last  half  hour,  I  'd  swear 
there  was  a  shanty  not  a  hundred  yards 
away,"  said  the  sheriff. 

The  other  man,  without  replying,  re 
mounted  his  horse  instantly. 

"  If  there  is,  and  it 's  inhabited  by  a  gen 
tleman  that  kin  make  centre  shots  like  that 
in  the  dark,  and  don't  care  to  explain  how, 
I  reckon  I  won't  disturb  him." 

The  sheriff  was  apparently  of  the  same 
opinion,  for  he  followed  his  companion's 
example,  and  once  more  led  the  way.  The 
spurs  tinkled,  the  torches  danced,  and  the 
cavalcade  slowly  reentered  the  gloom.  In 
another  moment  it  had  disappeared. 

The  wood  sank  again  into  repose,  this 
time  disturbed  by  neither  shape  nor  sound. 
What  lower  forms  of  life  might  have  crept 
close  to  its  roots  were  hidden  in  the  ferns, 
or  passed  with  deadened  tread  over  the  bark- 
strewn  floor.  Towards  morning  a  coolness 
like  dew  fell  from  above,  with  here  and  there 
a  dropping  twig  or  nut,  or  the  crepitant  awak- 


12  IN  THK    CAR(iCL\KZ    WOODS, 

ening  and  stretching-out  of  cramped  and 
weary  branches.  Later  a  dull,  lurid  dawn, 
not  unlike  the  last  evening's  sunset,  lilled  the 
aisles.  This  faded  again,  and  a  clear  gray 
light,  in  which  every  object  stood  out  in 
sharp  distinctness,  took  its  place.  Morning 
was  waiting  outside  in  all  its  brilliant,  youth 
ful  coloring,  but  only  entered  as  the  matured 
and  sobered  day. 

Seen  in  that  stronger  light,  the  monstrous 
tree  near  which  the  dead  bear  lay  revealed 
its  age  in  its  denuded  and  scarred  trunk,  and 
showed  in  its  base  a  dee])  cavity,  a  foot  or 
two  from  the  ground,  partly  hidden  bvlian"*- 

A  •/  «/  o 

ing  strips  of  bark  which  had  fallen  across  it. 
Suddenly  one  of  these  strips  was  pushed 
aside,  and  a  young  man  leaped  lightly  down. 
But  for  the  rifle  he  carried  and  some 
modern  peculiarities  of  dress,  he  was  of  a 
grace  so  unusual  and  unconventional  that  he 
might  have  passed  for  a,  faun  who  was  quit 
ting  his  ancestral  home,  lie  stepped  to  the 
side  of  the  bear  with  a  li^ht  elastic  movement 


TN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  13 

that  was  as  unlike  customary  progression  as 
his  face  and  figure  were  unlike  the  ordinary 
types  of  humanity.  Even  as  he  leaned  upon 
his  rifle,  looking  down  at  the  prostrate  ani 
mal,  he  unconsciously  fell  into  an  attitude 
that  in  any  other  mortal  would  have  been  a 
pose,  but  with  him  was  the  picturesque  and 
unstudied  relaxation  of  perfect  symmetry. 

"Hallo,  Mister!" 

He  raised  his  head  so  carelessly  and  list 
lessly  that  he  did  not  otherwise  change  his 
attitude.  Stepping  from  behind  the  tree,  the 
woman  of  the  preceding  night  stood  before 
him.  Her  hands  were  free  except  for  a  thong 
of  the  riata,  which  was  still  knotted  around 
one  wrist,  the  end  of  the  thong  having  been 
torn  or  burnt  away.  Her  eyes  were  blood 
shot,  and  her  hair  hung  over  her  shoulders  in 
one  long  black  braid. 

"  I  reckoned  all  along  it  was  you  who  shot 
the  bear,"  she  said ;  "  at  least  some  one  hidin' 
yer,"  and  she  indicated  the  hollow  tree  with 
her  hand.  "  It  was  n't  no  chance  shot."  Ob- 


14  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

serving  that  the  young  man,  cither  from  mis 
conception  or  indifference,  did.  not  seem  to 
comprehend  her,  she  added,  "  We  came  by 
here,  last  nig'ht,  a  minute  after  you  tired." 

"  Oh,  that  was  you  kicked  up  such  a  row, 
was  it  ?  "  said  the  young  man,  with  a  shade 
of  interest. 

"  I  reckon,"   said  the  woman,  nodding  her 
head,  "  and  them  that  was  with  me." 
"  And  who  are  they  ?  " 
"  Sheriff  Dunn,  of  Yolo,  and  his  deputy." 
"  And  where  are  they  now  ?  " 
"The    deputy— in    h— 11,   I.  reckon;    I 
don't  know,  about  the  sheriff." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  young  man  quietly ; 
"and  you?" 

"  I  __  got  away,"  she  said  savagely.  But 
she  was  taken  with  a  sudden  nervous  shiver, 
which  she  at  once  repressed  by  tightly  drag- 
ffino1  her  shawl  over  her  shoulders  and  el- 

O         O 

bows,  and  folding  her  arms  defiantly. 
"  And  you  're  going  ?  " 
"  To  follow  the  deputy,  may  be,"  she  said 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS  15 

gloomily.  "  But  come,  I  say,  ain't  you  go 
ing  to  treat?  It's  cursed  cold  here." 

"  Wait  a  moment."  The  young  man  was 
looking  at  her,  with  his  arched  brows  slightly 
knit  and  a  half  smile  of  curiosity.  "  Ain't 
you  Teresa? " 

She  was  prepared  for  the  question,  but 
evidently  was  not  certain  whether  she  would 
reply  defiantly  or  confidently.  After  an  ex 
haustive  scrutiny  of  his  face  she  chose  the 
latter,  and  said,  "  You  can  bet  your  life  on 
it,  Johnny." 

"  I  don't  bet,  and  my  name  is  n't  Johnny. 
Then  you  're  the  woman  who  stabbed  Dick 
Curson  over  at  Lagrange's  ?  " 

She  became  defiant  again.  "  That 's  me, 
all  the  time.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
about  it?" 

"  Nothing.  And  you  used  to  dance  at  the 
Alhambra  ?  " 

She  whisked  the  shawl  from  her  shoul 
ders,  held  it  up  like  a  scarf,  and  made  one 
or  two  steps  of  the  sembi-cuacua.  There 


16          IN  THE  CAnar/xrz  WOODS. 

was  not  the  least  gayety,  recklessness,  or  spon 
taneity  in  the  action  ;  it  was  simply  mechan 
ical  bravado.  It  was  so  ineffective,  even 
upon  her  own  feelings,  that  her  arms  pres 
ently  dropped  to  her  side,  and  she  coughed 
embarrassedly.  "  Where's  that  whiskey, 
pardner  ?  "  she  asked. 

The  young  man  turned  toward  the  tree  he 
had  just  quitted,  and  without  further  words 
assisted  her  to  mount  to  the  cavity.  It  was 
an  irregular-shaped  vaulted  chamber,  pierced 
fifty  feet  above  by  a  shaft  or  cylindrical 
opening  in  the  decayed  trunk,  which  was 
blackened  by  smoke,  as  if  it  had  served  the 
purpose  of  a  chimney.  In  one  corner  lay  a 
bearskin  and  blanket;  at  the  side  were  two 
alcoves  or  indentations,  one  of  which  was 
evidently  used  as  a  table,  and  the  other  as  a 
cupboard.  In  another  hollow,  near  the  en 
trance,  lay  a  few  small  sacks  of  flour,  coffee, 
and  sugar,  the  sticky  contents  of  the  latter 
still  strewing  the  floor.  From  this  store 
house  the  voung  man  drew  a  wicker  flask  of 


JN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  17 

whiskey,  and  handed  it,  with  a  tin  cup  of 
water,  to  the  woman.  She  waved  the  cup 
aside',  placed  the  flask  to  her  lips,  and  drank 
the  undiluted  spirit.  Yet  even  this  was  evi 
dently  bravado,  for  the  water  started  to  her 
eyes,  and  she  could  not  restrain  the  parox 
ysm  of  coughing  that  followed. 

"  I  reckon  that 's  the  kind  that  kills  at 
forty  rods,"  she  said,  with  a  hysterical  laugh. 
"  But  I  say,  pardner,  you  look  as  if  you  were 
fixed  here  to  stay,"  and  she  stared  ostenta 
tiously  around  the  chamber.  But  she  had 
already  taken  in  its  minutest  details,  even  to 
observing  that  the  hanging  strips  of  bark 
could  be  disposed  so  as  to  completely  hide 
the  entrance. 

"  Well,  yes,"  he  replied  ;  "  it  would  n't  be 
very  easy  to  pull  up  the  stakes  and  move  the 
shanty  further  on." 

Seeing  that  either  from  indifference  or 
caution  he  had  not  accepted  her  meaning, 
she  looked  at  him  fixedly,  and  said,  — 

"  What  is  your  little  game  ?  " 


18  Jy   THE   CARQUJXEZ    WOODS. 

"Eh?" 


What  are  you  hiding  for  —  here,  in  this 

tree?  " 

"  But  I  'm  not  hiding." 
"Then  why  didn't  you  come  out  when 
they  hailed  you  last  night?  " 
"  Because  I  did  n't  care  to." 
Teresa  whistled  incredulously.    "  All  right 
—  then  if  you  're  not  hiding,  I  'm  going  to." 
As  he  did  not  reply,  she  went  on  :  -  If  I  can 
keep  out  of  sight  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  this 
thin"1  will  blow  over  here,  and   I   can   get 
across  into  Yolo.     I  could  get  a  fair  show 
there,  where  the  boys  know  me.     .Just  now 
the  trails  arc  all  watched,  but  no  one  would 
think  of  lookin'  here." 

"Then  how  did  you  come  to  think  of  it? 
he  asked  carelessly. 

"  IWause  I  knew  that  bear  had  n't  gone 
far  for  that  sugar  :  because  1  knew  he  hadn't 

stole  it  from  a  cocfc it  was  too  fresh,  and 

we'd  have  seen  the  torn-up  earth:  because 
wr  hiul  passed  no  camp  ;  and  because  I  knew 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  19 

there  was  no  shanty  here.  And,  besides," 
she  added  in  a  low  voice,  "  may  be  I  was 
huiitin'  a  hole  myself  to  die  in  —  and  spot 
ted  it  by  instinct." 

There  was  something  in  this  suggestion  of 
a  hunted  animal  that,  unlike  anything  she 
had  previously  said  or  suggested,  was  not  ex 
aggerated,  and  caused  the  young  man  to  look 
at  her  again.  She  was  standing  under  the 
chimney-like  opening,  and  the  light  from 
above  illuminated  her  head  and  shoulders. 
The  pupils  of  her  eyes  had  lost  their  fever 
ish  prominence,  and  were  slightly  suffused 
and  softened  as  she  gazed  abstractedly  before 
her.  The  only  vestige  of  her  previous  excite 
ment  was  in  her  left-hand  fingers,  which  were 
incessantly  twisting  and  turning  a  diamond 
ring  upon  her  right  hand,  but  without  im 
parting  the  least  animation  to  her  rigid  atti 
tude.  Suddenly,  as  if  conscious  of  his  scru 
tiny,  she  stepped  aside  out  of  the  revealing 
light,  and  by  a  swift  feminine  instinct  raised 
her  hand  to  her  head  as  if  to  adjust  her 


20  IN  TIIE   CARQU1NEZ  WOODS. 

straggling  liuir.  It  was  only  for  a  moment, 
however,  for,  as  if  aware  of  the  weakness, 
she  struggled  to  resume  her  aggressive  pose. 
"Well,"  she  said.  -Speak  up.  Am  I 
goin  to  stop  here,  or  have  I  got  to  get  up 

and  get  ?  " 

"You   can   stay,"    said   the   young    mar 
quietly ;  "but  as  1  *ve  got  my  provisions  and 
ammunition  here,  and  have  n't  any  other  place 
to  go  to  just  now,  I  suppose  we  '11  have  to 
share  it  together." 

She  glanced  at  him  under  her  eyelids,  and 
a  half-hitter,  half-contemptuous  smile  passed 
across  her  face.  "  All  right,  old  man,"  she 
said,  holding  out  her  hand,  "  it 's  a  go.  Wejfl 
start  in  housekeeping  at  once,  if  you  like." 

"  I  '11  have  to  come  here  once  or  twice  a 
day,"  he  said,  quite  composedly,  "  to  look 
after  my  things,  and  get  something  to  eat  : 
but  I  "11  be  away  most  of  the  time,  and  what 
with  camping  out  under  the  trees  every  night 
I  reckon  my  share  won't  incommode  you/' 
She  opened  her  black  eyes  upon  him,  at 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  21 

this  original  proposition.  Then  she  looked 
down  at  her  torn  dress.  "I  suppose  this 
style  of  thing  ain't  very  fancy,  is  it?"  she 
said,  with  a  forced  laugh. 

"  I  think  I  know  where  to  beg  or  borrow 
a  change  for  you,  if  you  can't  get  any,"  he 
replied  simply. 

She  stared  at  him  again.  "  Are  you  a 
family  man  ?  " 

"  No." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment.  "Well," 
she  said,  "you  can  tell  your  girl  I'm  not 
particular  about  its  being  in  the  latest  fash 
ion." 

There  was  a  slight  flush  on  his  forehead 
as  he  turned  toward  the  little  cupboard,  but 
no  tremor  in  his  voice  as  he  went  on  :  "  You  '11 
find  tea  and  coffee  here,  and,  if  you  're  bored, 
there  's  a  book  or  two.  You  read,  don't  you 
-  I  mean  English  ?  " 

She  nodded,  but  cast  a  look  of  undisguised 
contempt  upon  the  two  worn,  coverless  novels 
he  held  out  to  her.  "You  have  n't  got  last 


22  /*V   THE   CMl(!.UIXM   WOODS. 

week's  -Sacramento  Union,'  have  you?  I 
hear  they  have  my  case  all  in;  only  them  ly 
ing  reporters  made  it  out  against  me  all  the 

time. 

«  1  don't  see  the  papers,"  he  replied  curt 

"  They  say  there  's  a  picture  of  me  in  the 
'Police  Gazette,'  taken  in  the  act,"  and  she 
laughed. 

He  looked  a  little  abstracted,  and  turned 
as  if  to  go.      "  I  think  you  '11  do  well  to  rest 
a  white  lUSt   now.  and  keep  as  close  hid  as 
possible  'until  afternoon.     The  trail  is  a  mile 
ftway   at    the    nearest    point,   but    some  one 
mi<>-ht  miss  it  and  stray  over  here. 
qu'ites,fe  if  YOU  're  careful,  and  stand  by  the 
l^       Yon  can  build  a  fire  here,"  he  steppe* 
under   the    chimney-like   opening     »  wrthou 
ite  being  noticed.     Even  the  smoke 
aud  cannot  be  seen  so  hi-h. 

The  lio-ht  from   above  was  tallm. 
he4id  and  shoulders,  iis  Hh^im  bars. 

looked  at  him  intently. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  23 

"  You  travel  a  good  deal  on  your  figure, 
pardner,  don't  you  ?  "  she  said,  with  a  certain 
admiration  that  was  quite  sexless  in  its  qual 
ity  ;  "  but  I  don't  see  how  you  pick  up  a  liv 
ing  by  it  in  the  Carquinez  Woods.  So 
you  're  going,  are  you  ?  You  might  be  more 
sociable.  Good-by." 

"  Good-by  !  "  He  leaped  from  the  open 
ing. 

"  I  say,  pardner  !  " 

He  turned  a  little  impatiently.  She  had 
knelt  down  at  the  entrance,  so  as  to  be  near 
er  his  level,  and  was  holding  out  her  hand. 
But  he  did  not  notice  it,  and  she  quietly 
withdrew  it. 

"If  anybody  dropped  in  and  asked  for 
you,  what  name  will  they  say  ?  " 

He  smiled.     "Don't  wait  to  hear." 

"  But  suppose  /  wanted  to  sing  out  for 
you,  what  will  I  call  you?" 

He  hesitated.     "  Call  me  —  Lo." 

"Lo,  the  poor  Indian?"1 

1  The  first  word  of  Pope's  familiar  apostrophe  is 


24  IN  THE  CARQU1NEZ   WOODS. 

"  Exactly." 

It  suddenly  occurred  to  the  woman,  Tere 
sa,  that  in  the  young  man's  height,  supple, 
yet  erect  carriage,  color,  and  singular  gravi 
ty  of  demeanor  there  was  a  refined,  aborigi 
nal  suggestion.  He  did  not  look  like  any 
Indian  she  had  ever  seen,  but  rather  as  a 
youthful  chief  might  have  looked.  There 
was  a  further  suggestion  in  his  fringed  buck 
skin  shirt  and  moccasins ;  but  before  she 
could  utter  the  half -sarcastic  comment  that 
rose  to  her  lips  he  had  glided  noiselessly 
away,  even  as  an  Indian  might  have  done. 

She  readjusted  the  slips  of  hanging  bark 
with  feminine  ingenuity,  dispersing  them 
so  as  to  completely  hide  the  entrance.  Yet 
this  did  not  darken  the  chamber,  which 
seemed  to  draw  a  purer  and  more  vigorous 
light  through  the  soaring  shaft  that  pierced 
the  roof  than  that  which  came  from  the  dim 
woodland  aisles  below.  Nevertheless,  she 

humorously  used  in  the  far  West  as  u  distinguishing 
title  for  the  Indian. 


IN  THE  CARQUJNEZ   WOODS.  25 

shivered,  and  drawing  her  shawl  closely 
around  her  began  to  collect  some  half-burnt 
fragments  of  wood  in  the  chimney  to  make  a 
fire.  But  the  preoccupation  of  her  thoughts 
rendered  this  a  tedious  process,  as  she  would 
from  time  to  time  stop  in  the  middle  of  an 
action  and  fall  into  an  attitude  of  rapt  ab 
straction,  with  far-off  eyes  and  rigid  mouth. 
When  she  had  at  last  succeeded  in  kindling 
a  fire  and  raising  a  film  of  pale  blue  smoke, 
that  seemed  to  fade  and  dissipate  entirely 
before  it  reached  the  top  of  the  chimney 
shaft,  she  crouched  beside  it,  fixed  her  eyes 
on  the  darkest  corner  of  the  cavern,  and  be 
came  motidhless. 

What  did  she  see  through  that  shadow  ? 

Nothing  at  first  but  a  confused  medley 
of  figures  and  incidents  of  the  preceding 
night ;  things  to  be  put  away  and  forgotten ; 
things  that  would  not  have  happened  but 
for  another  thing  —  the  thing  before  which 
everything  faded  !  A  ball-room  ;  the  sounds 
of  music ;  the  one  man  she  had  cared  for  in- 


20  /.V  THE  CARdUINEZ  WOODS. 

Bulthv   her   with  the    flaunting  ostentation 
of  hi  °  unfaithfulness:  herself  topped,  put 
aside,   laughed  at.    or   worse,   jilted.     And 
then  the  moment  of  delirium,  when  the  lignt 
daneed;   the  one  wild    art  that   lifted  her, 
the  despised  one,  above  then,  all  -made  hov 
the   supreme   figure,  to   be    glanced   at   by 
friohtened  women,  stared  at  by  halt-startl. 
huff-admiring   men!      "Yes,"   she  laughed  ; 
but  struekbythe  sound  of  her  own   vo,ee 
moved  twice  round  the  cavern  nervously,  and 
then  dropped  again  into  her  old  pos11(>n 
As  thev  carried  him  away  he  had  laugh  d 
• 


had  prais,,!  her  for  her  spirit,  and  uu-itod  1 
,,,,,„,,„  a,;linst  others  ;  he  who  had  taught 
]„.,.  to  strike  when  she  was  insulted:  and 
was  only  fit  he  should   reap  what   he 
sown.     She  was  what  he.  what  other  men, 
had  made    her.      And    what   was    she  nov 

What  had  she  been  once? 

She    tried   to    recall    her    childhood:    the 

uuln  and  woman  who  might  have   been  her 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  27 

father  and  mother  ;  who  fought  and  wran 
gled  over  her  precocious  little  life  ;  abused 
or  caressed  her  as  she  sided  with  either ;  and 
then  left  her  with  a  circus  troupe,  where  she 
first  tasted  the  power  of  her  courage,  her 
beauty,  and  her  recklessness.  She  remem 
bered  those  flashes  of  triumph  that  left  a 
fever  in  her  veins  —  a  fever  that  when  it 
failed  must  be  stimulated  by  dissipation,  by 
anything,  by  everything  that  would  keep 
her  name  a  wonder  in  men's  mouths,  an  en 
vious  fear  to  women.  She  recalled  her 
transfer  to  the  strolling  players  ;  her  cheap 
pleasures,  and  cheaper  rivalries  and  hatred 
—  but  always  Teresa  !  the  daring  Teresa ! 
the  reckless  Teresa !  audacious  as  a  woman, 
invincible  as  a  boy  ;  dancing,  flirting,  fenc 
ing,  shooting,  swearing,  drinking,  smoking, 
fighting  Teresa  !  "  Oh,  yes  ;  she  had  been 
loved,  perhaps  —  who  knows  ?  —  but  always 
feared.  Why  should  she  change  now  ?  Ha, 
he  should  see." 

She  had  lashed  herself  in  a  frenzy,  as  was 


28  IN  THE   CARQrJXM   WOODS. 

her  wont,  with  gestures,  ejaculations,  oaths, 
adjurations,  and  pas>ionate  apostrophes,  but 
with    this    strange    and    unexpected    result. 
Heretofore  she  had    always  been   sustained 
and  kept  up  by  an  audience  of  some  kind  or 
quality,  if  only  perhaps  a  humble  companion  : 
there  had  always  been  some  one  she  could 
fascinate  or  horrify,  and  she  could  read  her 
power    mirrored   in   their   eyes.     Even    the 
half-abstracted   indifference  of   her  strange 
host  had  been  something.     But  she  was  alone 
now.     Her  words  fell  on  apathetic  solitude  ; 
she    was    acting    to     viewless    space.     She 
rushed  to  the  opening,  dashed  the  hanging 
bark  aside,  and  leaped  to  the  ground. 

She  ran  forward  wildly  a  few  steps,  and 

stopped. 

"  Hallo !  "    she    cried.     "  Look,    't  is    I, 

Teresa ! " 

The  profound  silence  remained  unbroken. 
Her  shrillest  tones  were  lost  in  an  echolcss 
space,  even  as  the  smoke  of  her  lire  had 
faded  into  pure  ether.  She  stretched  out  her 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  29 

clenched  fists  as  if  to  defy  the  pillared  auster 
ities  of  the  vaults  around  her. 

"  Come  and  take  me  if  you  dare  !  " 
The  challenge  was  unheeded.  If  she  had 
thrown  herself  violently  against  the  nearest 
tree-trunk,  she  could  not  have  been  stricken 
more  breathless  than  she  was  by  the  compact, 
embattled  solitude  that  encompassed  her. 
The  hopelessness  of  impressing  these  cold 
and  passive  vaults  with  her  selfish  passion 
filled  her  with  a  vague  fear.  In  her  rage 
of  the  previous  night  she  had  not  seen 
the  wood  in  its  profound  immobility.  Left 
alone  with  the  majesty  of  those  enormous 
columns,  she  trembled  and  turned  faint.  The 
silence  of  the  hollow  tree  she  had  just  quit 
ted  seemed  to  her  less  awful  than  the  crush 
ing  presence  of  these  mute  and  monstrous 
witnesses  of  her  weakness.  Like  a  wounded 
quail  with  lowered  crest  and  trailing  wing, 
she  crept  back  to  her  hiding-place. 

Even  then  the  influence  of  the  wood  was 
still  upon  her.     She  picked  up  the  novel  she 


30  7 A"  7-777;   CARQUIXEZ   WOODS. 

had   contemptuously   thrown   aside,   only   to 
let  it  fall  again  in  utter  weariness.      For  a 
moment  her  feminine  curiosity  was  excited 
by  the  discovery  of  an  old  book,  in  whose 
blank  leaves  were  pressed  a  variety  of  flow 
ers  and  woodland- grasses.     As  sheVonld  not 
conceive  that  these  had  been  kept  for  any 
but  a  sentimental  purpose,    she  was   disap 
pointed  to  find  that  underneath  each  was  a 
sentence  in  an  unknown  tongue,  that  even  to 
her  untutored  eye  did  not  appear  to  be  the 
Ian-naive  of  passion.     Finally  she  rearranged 
the  couch  of  skins  and  blankets,  and,  impart 
ing  to  it  in  three  clever  shakes  an  entirely 
different  character,  lay  down   to  pursue  her 
reveries.      J>lllt    nature    asserted    herself,  and 
ere  she  knew  it  she  was  asleep. 

So  intense  and  prolonged  bad  been  her 
previous  excitement  that,  the  tension  once 
relieved,  she  passed  into  a  slumber  of  ex 
haustion  so  deep  that  she  seemed  scarce  to 
breathe.  High  noon  succeeded  morning, 
the  central  shaft  received  a  single  ray  of 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  31 

upper  sunlight,  the  afternoon  came  and 
went,  the  shadows  gathered  below,  the  sun 
set  fires  began  to  eat  their  way  through  the 
groined  roof,  and  she  still  slept.  She  slept 
even  when  the  bark  hangings  of  the  cham 
ber  were  put  aside,  and  the  young  man  re- 
eiitered. 

He  laid  down  a  bundle  he  was  carrying, 
and  softly  approached  the  sleeper.  For  a 
moment  he  was  startled  from  his  indiffer 
ence  ;  she  lay  so  still  and  motionless.  But 
this  was  not  all  that  struck  him;  the  face 
before  him  was  no  longer  the  passionate, 
haggard  visage  that  confronted  him  that 
morning ;  the  feverish  air,  the  burning  color, 
the  strained  muscles  of  mouth  and  brow, 
and  the  staring  eyes  were  gone ;  wiped  away, 
perhaps,  by  the  tears  that  still  left  their 
traces  on  cheek  and  dark  eyelash.  It  was 
the  face  of  a  handsome  woman  of  thirty, 
with  even  a  suggestion  of  softness  in  the 
contour  of  the  cheek  and  arching  of  her 
upper  lip,  no  longer  rigidly  drawn  down  in 


32  IN. THE   CARdriXKZ    WOODS. 

anger,  but  relaxed  by  sleep  on  her  white 
teeth. 

\Yith  the  lithe,  soft  treat!  that  was  habit 
ual  to  him,  the  young  man  moved  about,  ex 
amining  the  condition  of  the  little  chamber 
and  its  stock  of  provisions  and  necessaries, 
and  withdrew  presently,  to  reappear  as  noise 
lessly  with  a  tin  bucket  of  water.  This 
done,  he  replenished  the  little  pile  of  fuel 
with  an  armful  of  bark  and  pine  cones,  cast 
an  approving  glance  about  him,  which  in 
cluded  the  sleeper,  and  silently  departed. 

It  was  night  when  she  awoke.  She  was 
surrounded  by  a  profound  darkness,  except 
where  the  shaft-like  opening  made  a  neb 
ulous  mist  in  the  corner  of  her  wooden 
cavern.  Providentially  she  struggled  back 
to  consciousness  slowly,  so  that  the  solitude 
and  silence  came  upon  her  gradually,  with  a 
growing  realization  of  the  events  of  the  past 
twenty-four  hours,  but  without  a  shock.  She 
was  alone  here,  but  safe  still,  and  every  hour 
added  to  her  chances  of  ultimate  escape. 


JN  THE  CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  33 

She  remembered  to  have  seen  a  candle 
among  the  articles  on  the  shelf,  and  she  be 
gan  to  grope  her  way  towards  the  matches. 
Suddenly  she  stopped.  What  was  that 
panting  ? 

Was  it  her  own  breathing,  quickened  with 
a  sudden  nameless  terror?  or  was  there 
something  outside?  Her  heart  seemed  to 
stop  beating  while  she  listened.  Yes  !  it 
was  a  panting  outside  —  a  panting  now 
increased,  multiplied,  redoubled,  mixed  with 
the  sounds  of  rustling,  tearing,  craunching, 
and  occasionally  a  quick,  impatient  snarl. 
She  crept  on  her  hands  and  knees  to  the 
opening  and  looked  out.  At  first  the  ground 
seemed  to  be  undulating  between  her  and 
the  opposite  tree.  But  a  second  glance 
showed  her  the  black  and  gray,  bristling, 
tossing  backs  of  tumbling  beasts  of  prey, 
charging  the  carcass  of  the  bear  that  lay 
at  its  roots,  or  contesting  for  the  prize  with 
gluttonous,  choked  breath,  sidelong  snarls, 
arched  spines,  and  recurved  tails.  One  of 


84  IN  THE   CARUUIXl.Z    \\\H)l)X. 

the  boldest  had  leaped  upon  a  buttressing 
root  of  her  tree  within  a  foot  of  the  opening. 

i  O 

The  excitement,  awe,  and  terror  she  had  un 
dergone  culminated  in  one  wild,  maddened 
scream,  that  seemed  to  pierce  even  the  cold 
depths  of  the  forest,  as  she  dropped  on  her 
face,  with  her  hands  clasped  over  her  eyes 
in  an  agony  of  fear. 

Her  scream  was  answered,  after  a  pause, 
by  a  sudden  volley  of  firebrands  and  sparks 
into  the  midst  of  the  panting,  crowding 
pack;  a  few  smothered  howls  and  snaps, 
and  a  sudden  dispersion  of  the  concourse. 
In  another  moment  the  young  man,  with  a 
blazing  brand  in  either  hand,  leaped  upon 
the  body  of  the  bear. 

Teresa  raised  her  head,  uttered  a  hyster 
ical  cry,  slid  down  the  tree,  flew  wildly  to  his 
side,  caught  convulsively  at  his  sleeve,  and 
fell  on  her  knees  beside  him. 

"Save  me!  save  me!"  she  gasped,  in  a 
voice  broken  by  terror.  "  Save  me  from 
those  hideous  creatures.  No,  no ! "  she  irn- 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  35 

plored,  as  he  endeavored  to  lift  her  to  her 
feet.  "  No  —  let  me  stay  here  close  beside 
you.  So,"  clutching  the  fringe  of  his  leather 
hunting-shirt,  and  dragging  herself  on  her 
knees  nearer  him  —  "  so  —  don't  leave  me, 
for  God's  sake  !  " 

"  They  are  gone,"  he  replied,  gazing  down 
curiously  at  her,  as  she  wound  the  fringe 
around  her  hand  to  strengthen  her  hold; 
"  they  're  only  a  lot  of  cowardly  coyotes  and 
wolves,  that  dare  not  attack  anything  that 
lives  and  can  move." 

The  young  woman  responded  with  a  ner 
vous  shudder.  "  Yes,  that 's  it,"  she  whis 
pered,  in  a  broken  voice  ;  "  it 's  only  the 
dead  they  want.  Promise  me  —  swear  to 
me,  if  I  'm  caught,  or  hung,  or  shot,  you 
won't  let  me  be  left  here  to  be  torn  and  — 
ah  !  my  God  !  what 's  that  ?  " 

She  had  thrown  her  arms  around  his  knees, 
completely  pinioning  him  to  her  .frantic 
breast.  Something  like  a  smile  of  disdain 
passed  across  his  face  as  he  answered,  "  It 's 
nothing.  They  will  not  return.  Get  up  !  " 


36  IN  Tin:  CAHQnxrz  \voons. 

Even  in  her  terror  she  saw  the  change  in 
his  face.  "I  know,  I  know!"  she  crittl. 
"I'm  frightened  —  but  I  cannot  bear  it  any 
longer.  Hear  me  !  Listen  !  Listen  —  but 
don't  move  !  I  didn't  mean  to  kill  Cm-son 
—  no  !  I  swear  to  God,  no  !  I  did  n't  mean 
to  kill  the  sheriff  —  and  I  did  n't.  I  was 
only  bragging  —  do  you  hear  ?  I  lied  !  I 
lied  —  don't  move,  I  swear  to  God  I  lied. 
I  've  made  myself  out  worse  than  I  was.  1 
have.  Only  don't  leave  me  now  —  and  if  I 
die  —  and  it 's  not  far  off,  may  be  —  get  me 
away  from  here  —  and  from  them.  Swear 
it!" 

"  All  right,"  said  the  young  man,  with  a 
scarcely  concealed  movement  of  irritation. 
"  But  get  ii])  now,  and  go  back  to  the  cabin/' 

"No:  not  t/n-i'c  alone."  Nevertheless,  he 
quietly  hut  firmly  released  himself. 

"  I  will  stay  here,"  he  replied.  **  1  would 
have  been  nearer  to  yon,  but  I  thought  it  1  tet 
ter  for  your  safety  that  my  camp-fire  should 
be  further  off.  But  I  can  build  it  here,  and 
that  \vill  keep  the  coyotes  off." 


IN   THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  37 

"  Let  me  stay  with  you  —  beside  you,"  she 
said  imploringly. 

She  looked  so  broken,  crushed,  and  spirit 
less,  so  unlike  the  woman  of  the  morning 
that,  albeit  with  an  ill  grace,  he  tacitly  con 
sented,  and  turned  away  to  bring  his  blan 
kets.  But  in  the  next  moment  she  was  at  his 
side,  following  him  like  a  dog,  silent  and 
wistful,  and  even  offering  to  carry  his  bur 
den.  When  he  had  built  the  fire,  for  which 
she  had  collected  the  pine-cones  and  broken 
branches  near  them,  he  sat  down,  folded  his 
arms,  and  leaned  back  against  the  tree  in  re 
served  and  deliberate  silence.  Humble  and 
submissive,  she  did  not  attempt  to  break  in 
upon  a  reverie  she  could  not  help  but  feel 
had  little  kindliness  to  herself.  As  the  fire 
snapped  and  sparkled,  she  pillowed  her  head 
upon  a  root,  and  lay  still  to  watch  it. 

It  rose  and  fell,  and  dying  away  at  times 
to  a  mere  lurid  glow,  and  again,  agitated  by 
some  breath  scarcely  perceptible  to  them, 
quickening  into  a  roaring  flame.  When  only 


38  IN  Tin:  c.\u<>riM:z  WOODS. 

the  embers  remained,  a  dead  silence  filled  the 
wood.  Then  the  first  breath  of  morning 
moved  the  tangled  canopy  above,  and  a  do/en 
tiny  sprays  and  needles  detached  from  the1 
interlocked  boughs  winged  their  soft  way 
noiselessly  to  the  earth.  A  few  fell  upon  the 
prostrate  woman  like  a  gentle  benediction, 
and  she  slept.  But  even  then,  the  young 
man,  looking  down,  saw  that  the  slender  lin 
gers  were  still  aimlessly  but  rigidly  twisted 
in  the  leather  fringe  of  his  hunting-shirt. 


CHAPTER  IL 

IT  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  Carquinez 
Wood  that  it  stood  apart  and  distinct  in  its 
gigantic  individuality.  Even  where  the  in 
tegrity  of  its  own  singular  species  was  not 
entirely  preserved,  it  admitted  no  inferior 
trees.  Nor  was  there  any  diminishing  fringe 
on  its  outskirts ;  the  sentinels  that  guarded 
the  few  gateways  of  the  dim  trails  were  as 
monstrous  as  the  serried  ranks  drawn  up  in 
the  heart  of  the  forest.  Consequently,  the 
red  highway  that  skirted  the  eastern  angle 
was  bare  and  shadeless,  until  it  slipped  a 
league  off  into  a  watered  valley  and  refreshed 
itself  under  lesser  sycamores  and  willows.  It 
was  here  the  newly-born  city  of  Excelsior, 
still  in  its  cradle,  had,  like  an  infant  Her 
cules,  strangled  the  serpentine  North  Fork 
of  the  American  river,  and  turned  its  life- 


40  IN  THE  cMK>rixi:z  WOODS. 

current  into  the  ditches  and  flumes  of  the 
Excelsior  miners. 

Newest  of  the  new  houses  that  seemed  to 
have  accidentally  formed  its  single,  strag 
gling  street  was  the  residence  of  the  Rev. 
Winslow  Wynn,  not  unfrequently  known  as 
"  Father  Wynn,"  pastor  of  the  first  Baptist 
church.  The  -  pastorage,"  as  it  was  cheer 
fully  called,  had  the  glaring  distinction  of 
being  built  of  brick,  and  was,  as  had  been 
wickedly  pointed  out  by  idle  scoffers,  the 
only  "  fireproof  "  structure  in  town.  This 
sarcasm  was  not,  however,  supposed  to  be 
particularly  distasteful  to  "  Father  Wynn," 
who  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being  "hail 
fellow,  well  met"  witli  the  rough  mining 
element,  who  called  them  by  their  Christian 
names,  had  been  known  to  drink  at  the  bar 
of  the  Polka  Saloon  while  engaged  in  the 
conversion  of  a  prominent  citi/eu.  and  was 
popularly  said  to  have  no  "gospel  starch"' 
about  him.  Certain  conscious  outcasts  and 
transgressors  were  touched  at  this  apparent 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  41 

unbending  of  the  spiritual  authority.  The 
rigid  tenets  of  Father  Wynn's  faith  were  lost 
in  the  supposed  catholicity  of  his  humanity. 
"  A  preacher  that  can  jine  a  man  when  he  's 
histiii'  liquor  into  him,  without  jawin'  about 
it,  ought  to  be  allowed  to  wrestle  with  sinners 
and  splash  about  in  as  much  cold  water  as 
he  likes,"  was  the  criticism  of  one  of  his  con 
verts.  Nevertheless,  it  was  true  that  Father 
Wynn  was  somewhat  loud  and  intolerant  in 
his  tolerance.  It  was  true  that  he  was  a  lit 
tle  more  rough,  a  little  more  frank,  a  little 
more  hearty,  a  little  more  impulsive,  than  his 
disciples.  It  was  true  that  often  the  proc 
lamation  of  his  extreme  liberality  and  broth 
erly  equality  partook  somewhat  of  an  apol 
ogy.  It  is  true  that  a  few  who  might  have 
been  most  benefited  by  this  kind  of  gospel 
regarded  him  with  a  singular  disdain.  It  is 
true  that  his  liberality  was  of  an  ornamental, 
insinuating  quality,  'accompanied  with  but 
little  sacrifice ;  his  acceptance  of  a  collection 
taken  up  in  a  gambling  saloon  for  the  re- 


42  IN  TIJE  CARQriXrZ  WOODS. 

building  of  his  church,  destroyed  by  fire,  gave 
him  a  popularity  large  enough,  it  must  bo 
confessed,  to  cover  the  sins  of  the  gamblers 
themselves,  but  it  was  not  proven  that  he  had 
ever  organized  any  form  of  relief.  But  it 
was  true  that  local  history  somehow  accepted 
him  as  an  exponent  of  mining  Christianity, 
without  the  least  reference  to  the  opinions  of 
the  Christian  miners  themselves. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wynn's  liberal  habits  and 
opinions  were  not,  however,  shared  by  his 
only  daughter,  a  motherless  young  lady  of 
eighteen.  Nellie  Wynn  was  in  the  eye  of 
Excelsior  an  unapproachable  divinity,  as 
inaccessible  and  cold  as  her  father  was  im 
pulsive  and  familiar.  An  atmosphere  of 
chaste  and  proud  virginity  made  itself  felt 
even  in  the  starched  integrity.of  her  spotless 
skirts,  in  her  neatly  gloved  finger-tips,  in 
her  clear  amber  eyes,  in  her  imperious  red 
lips,  in  her  sensitive  nostrils.  Need  it  be 
said  that  the  youth  and  middle  age  of 
Excelsior  were  madly,  because  apparently 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS.  43 

hopelessly,  in  love  with  her  ?  For  the  rest, 
she  had  been  expensively  educated,  was 
profoundly  ignorant  in  two  languages,  with 
a  trained  misunderstanding  of  music  and 
painting,  and  a  natural  and  faultless  taste 
in  dress. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wynn  was  engaged  in  a 
characteristic  hearty  parting  with  one  of  his 
latest  converts,  upon  his  own  doorstep,  with 
admirable  al  fresco  effect.  He  had  just 
clapped  him  on  the  shoulder.  "  Good-by, 
good-by,  Charley,  my  boy,  and  keep  in  the 
right  path;  not  up,  or  down,  or  round  the 
gulch,  you  know  —  ha,  ha  !  —  but  straight 
across  lots  to  the  shining  gate."  He  had 
raised  his  voice  under  the  stimulus  of  a  few 
admiring  spectators,  and  backed  his  convert 
playfully  against  the  wall.  "  You  see !  we  're 
goin'  in  to  win,  you  bet.  Good-by !  I  'd 
ask  you  to  step  in  and  have  a  chat,  but  I've 
got  my  work  to  do,  and  so  have  you.  The 
gospel  must  n't  keep  us  from  that,  must  it, 
Charley?  Ha,  ha  !  " 


44  IN   THE   C  All  QU  INEZ    WOODS. 

The  convert  (who  elsewhere  was  a  profane 
expressman,  and  had  become  quite  imbecile 
under  Mr.  Wy mi's  active  heartiness  and 
brotherly  horse-play  before  spec-tutors )  man 
aged,  however,  to  feebly  stammer  with  a 
blush  something  about  "  Miss  Nellie." 

"  Ah,  Nellie.  She,  too,  is  at  her  tasks  — 
trimming  her  lamp  —  you  know,  the  parable 
of  the  wise  virgins,"  continued  Father  AVvim 
hastily,  fearing  that  the  convert  might  take 
the  illustration  literally.  "  There,  there  — 
good-by.  Keep  in  the  right  path."  And 
with  a  parting  shove  he  dismissed  Charley 
and  entered  his  own  house. 

That  "  wise  virgin,"  Nellie,  had  evidently 
finished  with  the  lain]),  and  was  now  going 
out  to  meet  the  bridegroom,  as  she  was  fully 
dressed  and  gloved,  and  had  a  pink  parasol 
in  her  hand,  as  her  father  entered  the  sit 
ting-room.  His  bluff  heartiness  seemed  to 
fade  away  as  he  removed  his  soft,  broad- 
brimmed  hat  and  glanced  across  the  too 
fresh-looking  apartment.  There  was  a  smell 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS,  45 

of  mortar  still  in  the  air,  and  a  faint  sugges 
tion  that  at  any  moment  green  grass  might 
appear  between  the  interstices  of  the  red 
brick  hearth.  The  room,  yielding  a  little  in 
the  point  of  coldness,  seemed  to  share  Miss 
Nellie's  fresh  virginity,  and,  barring  the 
pink  parasol,  set  her  off  as  in  a  vestal's  cell. 

"I  supposed  you  wouldn't  care  to  see 
Brace,  the  expressman,  so  I  got  rid  of  him 
at  the  door,"  said  her  father,  drawing  one 
of  the  new  chairs  towards  him  slowly,  and 
sitting  down  carefully,  as  if  it  were  a  hith 
erto  untried  experiment. 

Miss  Nellie's  face  took  a  tint  of  interest. 
"Then  he  doesn't  go  with  the  coach  to  In 
dian  Spring  to-day  ?  " 

"No;  why?" 

"  I  thought  of  going  over  myself  to  get 
the  Burnham  girls  to  come  to  choir-meet 
ing,"  replied  Miss  Nellie  carelessly,  "  and  he 
might  have  been  company." 

"  He  'd  go  now,  if  he  knew  you  were  go 
ing,"  said  her  father ;  "  but  it 's  just  as  well 


46  IN    THE   CAlidClM.Z    WOODS. 

he  shouldn't  be  needlessly  encouraged.  I 
rather  think  that  Sheriff  Dunn  is  a  little 
jealous  of  him.  By  the  way,  the  sheriff  is 
much  better.  I  called  to  cheer  him  up  to 
day  "  (Mr.  Wynn  had  in  fact  timmltuously 
accelerated  the  sick  man's  pulse),  "  and  he 
talked  of  you,  as  usual.  In  fact,  he  said  he 
had  only  two  things  to  get  well  for.  One 
was  to  catch  and  hang  that  woman  Teresa, 
who  shot  him  ;  the  other  —  can't  you  guess 
the  other?"  he  added  archly,  with  a  faint 
'suggestion  of  his  other  manner. 

Miss  Nellie  coldly  could  not. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wynn's  archness  vanished. 
"Don't  be  a  fool,"  he  said  dryly.  "He 
wants  to  marry  you,  and  you  know  it." 

"Most  of  the  men  here  do,"  responded 
Miss  Nellie,  without  the  least  trace  of  co 
quetry.  **  Is  tlu1  wedding  or  the  hanging  to 
take  place  first,  or  together,  so  lie  can  offi 
ciate  at  both  ?  " 

".His  share  in  the  Union  Ditch  is  worth 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars,"  continued  her 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS.  47 

father  ;  "  and  if  he  is  n't  nominated  for  dis 
trict  judge  this  fall,  he 's  bound  to  go  to  the 
legislature,  any  way.  I  don't  think  a  girl 
with  your  advantages  and  education  can  af 
ford  to  throw  away  the  chance  of  shining  in 
Sacramento,  San  Francisco,  or,  in  good  time, 
perhaps  even  Washington." 

Miss  Nellie's  eyes  did  not  reflect  entire 
disapproval  of  this  suggestion,  although  she 
replied  with  something  of  her  father's  prac 
tical  quality. 

"  Mr.  Dunn  is  not  out  of  his  bed  yet,  and 
they  say  Teresa's  got  away  to  Arizona,  so 
there  isn't  any  particular  hurry." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  but  see  here,  Nellie,  I  've 
some  important  news  for  you.  You  know 
your  young  friend  of  the  Carquinez  Woods 
—  Dorman,  the  botanist,  eh  ?  Well,  Brace 
knows  all  about  him.  And  what  do  you 
think  he  is  ?  " 

Miss  Nellie  took  upon  herself  a  few  extra 
degrees  of  cold,  and  did  n't  know. 

"  An   Injin !     Yes,  an   out-and-out   Cher- 


48  IN  THE  CARQUIXEZ   WOODS' 

okee.  You  see  he  calls  himself  Dorman 
-  Low  Dorman.  That  "s  only  French  for 
4  Sleeping  Water,'  his  Injin  name  —  'Low 
Dorman.'  " 

"You  mean  '  L'Eau  Dorman  to/ "  said 
Nellie. 

"That's  what  I  said.  The  chief  called 
him  '  Sleeping  Water  '  when  lie  was  a  boy, 
and  one  of  them  French  Canadian  trappers 
translated  it  into  French  when  he  brought 
him  to  California  to  school.  But  he 's  an 
Injin,  sure.  No  wonder  he  prefers  to  live 
in  the  woods." 

"Well?  "said  Nellie. 

"  Well,"  echoed  her  father  impatiently, 
"  he's  an  Injin,  I  tell  you,  and  you  can't  of 
course  have  anything  to  do  with  him.  lie 
must  n't  come  here  again." 

"But  you  forget,"  said  Nellie  importnrba- 
bly,  "  that  it  was  you  who  invited  him  here, 
and  were  so  much  exercised  over  him.  You 
remember  yon  introduced  him  to  the  Bishop 
and  those  Eastern  clergymen  as  a  magnificent 


IN  THE  CAR  QU  INEZ   WOODS.  49 

specimen  of  a  young  Callfornian.  You  for 
get  what  an  occasion  you  made  of  his  coming 
to  church  on  Sunday,  and  how  you  made 
him  come  in  his  buckskin  shirt  and  walk 
down  the  street  with  you  after  service  !  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wynn,  hur 
riedly. 

•"  And,"  continued  Nellie  carelessly,  "  how 
you  made  us  sing  out  of  the  same  book 
4  Children  of  our  Father's  Fold,'  and  how 
you  preached  at  him  until  he  actually  got  a 
color!" 

"  Yes,"  said  her  father  ;  "  but  it  was  n't 
known  then  he  was  an  Injin,  and  they  are 
frightfully  unpopular  with  those  Southwest 
ern  men  among  whom  we  labor.  Indeed,  I 
am  quite  convinced  that  when  Brace  said  'the 
only  good  Indian  was  a  dead  one '  his  ex 
pression,  though  extravagant,  perhaps,  really 
voiced  the  sentiments  of  the  majority.  It 
would  be  only  kindness  to  the  unfortunate 
creature  to  warn  him  from  exposing  himself 
to  their  rude  but  conscientious  antagonism." 


50  IN  THE  CARQU1NEZ   WOODS. 

"  Perhaps  you  'd  better  tell  him,  then,  in 
your  own  popular  way,  which  they  all  seem 
to  understand  so  well,"  responded  the  daugh 
ter.  Mr.  \Vynn  cast  a  quick  glance  at  her, 
but  there  was  no  trace  of  irony  in  her  face 
—  nothing  but  a  half -bored  indifference  as 
she  walked  toward  the  window. 

"  I  will  go  with  you  to  the  coach-office," 
said  her  father,  who  generally  gave  these 
simple  paternal  duties  the  pronounced  char 
acter  of  a  public  Christian  example. 

"  It 's  hardly  worth  while,"  replied  Miss 
Nellie.  "I've  to  stop  at  the  Watsons',  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  ask  after  the  baby  ; 
so  I  shall  go  on  to  the  Crossing  and  pick  up 
the  coach  when  it  passes.  Good-by."' 

Nevertheless,  as  soon  as  Nellie  had  depart 
ed,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Wynn  proceeded  to  the 
coach-office,  and  publicly  grasping  the  hand 
of  Yuba  l>ill,  the  driver,  commended  his 
daughter  t<>  his  care  in  the  name  of  the  uni 
versal  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  Christian 
fraternity.  Carried  away  by  his  heartiness, 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  51 

he  forgot  his  previous  caution,  and  confided 
to  the  expressman  Miss  Nellie's  regrets  that 
she  was  not  to  have  that  gentleman's  com 
pany.  The  result  was  that  Miss  Nellie  found 
the  coach  with  its  passengers  awaiting  her 
with  uplifted  hats  and  wreathed  smiles  at 
the  Crossing,  and  the  box-seat  (from  which 
an  unfortunate  stranger,  who  had  expensive 
ly  paid  for  it,  had  been  summarily  ejected) 
at  her  service  beside  Yuba  Bill,  who  had 
thrown  away  his  cigar  and  donned  a  new 
pair  of  buckskin  gloves  to  do  her  honor. 
But  a  more  serious  result  to  the  young  beauty 
was  the  effect  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wynn's  con 
fidences  upon  the  impulsive  heart  of  Jack 
Brace,  the  expressman.  It  has  been  already 
intimated  that  it  was  his  "day  off."  Unable 
to  summarily  reassume  his  usual  functions 
beside  the  driver  without  some  practical  rea 
son,  and  ashamed  to  go  so  palpably  as  a  mere 
passenger,  he  was  forced  to  let  the  coach  pro 
ceed  without  him.  Discomfited  for  the  mo 
ment,  he  was  not,  however,  beaten.  He  had 


52  IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ  WOODS. 

lost  the  blissful  journey  by  her  side,  which 
would  have  been  his  professional  right,  but 
—  she  was  going  to  Indian  Spring  !  could  he 
not  anticipate  her  there?  Might  they  not 
meet  in  the  most  accidental  manner?  And 
what  might  not  come  from  that  meeting  away 
from  the  prying  eyes  of  their  own  town  ?  Mr. 
Brace  did  not  hesitate,  but  saddling  his  fleet 
Buckskin,  by  the  time  the  stage-coach  had 
passed  the  Crossing  in  the  high-road  he  had 
mounted  the  hill  and  was  dashing  along  the 
"  cut-off  "  in  the  same  direction,  a  full  mile 
in  advance.  Arriving  at  Indian  Spring,  he 
left  his  horse  at  a  Mexican  im*<nl<t  on  the 
con  lines  of  the  settlement,  and  from  the  piled 
(Jt'brift  of  a  tunnel  excavation  awaited  the 
slow  arrival  of  the  coach.  On  mature  reflec 
tion  he  could  give  no  reason  why  he  had  not 
boldly  awaited  it  at  the  express  office,  except 
a  certain  bashful  consciousness  of  his  own 
follv,  and  a  belief  that  it  might  be  glaringly 
apparent  to  the  bystanders.  When  the  coach 
arrived  and  lie  had  overcome  this  conscious- 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS.  53 

ness,  it  was  too  late.  Yuba  Bill  had  dis 
charged  his  passengers  for  Indian  Spring 
and  driven  away.  Miss  Nellie  was  in  the 
settlement,  but  where  ?  As  time  passed 
he  became  more  desperate  and  bolder.  He 
walked  recklessly  up  and  down  the  main 
street,  glancing  in  at  the  open  doors  of  shops, 
and  even  in  the  windows  of  private  dwellings. 
It  might  have  seemed  a  poor  compliment  to 
Miss  Nellie,  but  it  was  an  evidence  of  his 
complete  preoccupation,  when  the  sight  of  a 
female  face  at  a  window,  even  though  it  was 
plain  or  perhaps  painted,  caused  his  heart  to 
bound,  or  the  glancing  of  a  skirt  in  the  dis 
tance  quickened  his  feet  and  his  pulses.  Had 
Jack  contented  himself  with  remaining  at  Ex 
celsior  he  might  have  vaguely  regretted,  but 
as  soon  become  as  vaguely  accustomed  to, 
Miss  Nellie's  absence.  But  it  was  not  until 
his  hitherto  quiet  and  passive  love  took  this 
first  step  of  action  that  it  fully  declared  itself. 
When  he  had  made  the  tour  of  the  town  a 
dozen  times  unsuccessfully,  he  had  perfectly 


54  IN  THE   CARQ.V1XKZ   WOODS. 

made  up  his  mind  tliat  marriage  with  Nellie 
or  the  speedy  death  of  several  people,  in- 
eluding  possibly  himself,  was  the  only  alter 
native.  He  regretted  he  had  not  accompa 
nied  her;  he  regretted  he  had  not  demanded 
where  she  was  going ;  he  contemplated  a 
course  of  future  action  that  two  hours  ago 
would  have  filled  him  with  bashful  terror. 
There  was  clearly  but  one  thing  to  do  —  to 
declare  his  passion  the  instant  he  met  her, 
and  return  with  her  to  Excelsior  an  accepted 
suitor,  or  not  to  return  at  all. 

Suddenly  he  was  vexatiously  conscious  of 
hearing  his  name  lazily  called,  and  looking 
up  found  that  he  was  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
town,  and  interrogated  by  two  horsemen. 

"Got  down  to  walk,  and  the  coach  got 
away  from  you,  Jack,  eh  ?  " 

A  little  ashamed  of  his  preoccupation, 
Brace  stammered  something  about  u  collec 
tions."  He  did  not  recognize  the  men.  but 
his  own  face,  name,  and  business  were  fa 
miliar  to  everybody  for  fifty  miles  along  the 
stage-road. 


IN  THE  CAR  QU  INEZ  WOODS.  55 

"  Well,  you  can  settle  a  bet  for  us,  I 
reckon.  Bill  Dacre  thai*  bet  me  five  dollars 
and  the  drinks  that  a  young  gal  we  met  at 
the  edge  of  the  Carquinez  Woods,  dressed 
in  a  long  brown  duster  and  half  muffled  up 
in  a  hood,  was  the  daughter  of  Father  Wynn 
of  Excelsior.  I  did  not  get  a  fair  look  at 
her,  but  it  stands  to  reason  that  a  high- 
toned  young  lady  like  Nellie  Wynn  don't 
go  trap' sing  along  the  wood  like  a  Pike 
County  tramp.  I  took  the  bet.  May  be 
you  know  if  she  's  here  or  in  Excelsior  ?  " 

Mr.  Brace  felt  himself  turning  pale  with 
eagerness  and  excitement.  But  the  near 
prospect  of  seeing  her  presently  gave  him 
back  his  caution,  and  he  answered  truthfully 
that  he  had  left  her  in  Excelsior,  and  that 
in  his  two  hours'  sojourn  in  Indian  Spring 
he  had  not  met  her  once.  "  But,"  he  added, 
with  a  Calif ornian's  reverence  for  the  sanc 
tity  of  a  bet,  "  I  reckon  you  'd  better  make 
it  a  stand-off  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  I  '11 
find  out  and  let  you  know."  Which,  it  is 
only  fair  to  say,  he  honestly  intended  to  do. 


56  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

With  a  liurried  nod  of  parting,  he  contin 
ued  in  the  direction  of  the  Woods.  When, 
he  had  satisfied  himself  that  the  strangers 
had  entered  the  settlement,  and  would  not 
follow  him  for  further  explanation,  he  quick 
ened  his  pace.  In  half  an  hour  he  passed 
between  two  of  the  gigantic  sentinels  that 
guarded  the  entrance  to  a  trail.  Here  he 
paused  to  collect  his  thoughts.  The  Woods 
were  vast  in  extent,  the  trail  dim  and  uncer 
tain  —  at  times  apparently  breaking  off,  or 
intersecting  another  trail  as  faint  as  itself. 
Believing  that  Miss  Nellie  had  diverged 
from  the  highway  only  as  a  momentary  ex 
cursion  into  the  shade,  and  that  she  would 
not  dare  to  penetrate  its  more  sombre  and 
unknown  recesses,  he  kept  within  sight  of 
the  skirting  plain.  By  degrees  the  sedate 
influence  of  the  silent  vaults  seemed  to  de 
press  him.  The  ardor  of  the  chase  began  to 
flag.  Under  the  calm  of  their  dim  roof  the 
fever  of  his  veins  began  to  subside  :  his  pace 
blackened ;  he  reasoned  more  deliberately. 


/AT  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  57 

It  was  by  no  means  probable  that  the  young 
woman  in  a  brown  duster  was  Nellie  ;  it  was 
not  her  habitual  traveling  dress;  it  was 
not  like  her  to  walk  unattended  in  the  road ; 
there  was  nothing  in  her  tastes  and  habits 
to  take  her  into  this  gloomy  forest,  allowing 
that  she  had  even  entered  it ;  and  on  this 
absolute  question  of  her  identity  the  two 
witnesses  were  divided.  He  stopped  irreso 
lutely,  and  cast  a  last,  long,  half-despairing 
look  around  him.  Hitherto  he  had  given 
that  part  of  the  wood  nearest  the  plain  his 
greatest  attention.  His  glance  now  sought 
its  darker  recesses.  Suddenly  he  became 
breathless.  Was  it  a  beam  of  sunlight  that 
had  pierced  the  groined  roof  above,  and  now 
rested  against  the  trunk  of  one  of  the  dim 
mer,  more  secluded  giants  ?  No,  it  was 
moving  ;  even  as  he  gazed  it  slipped  away, 
glanced  against  another  tree,  passed  across 
one  of  the  vaulted  aisles,  and  then  was  lost 
again.  Brief  as  was  the  glimpse,  he  was 
not  mistaken  —  it  was  the  figure  of  a  woman. 


58  IN  TEE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS. 

In  another  moment  he  was  on  her  track, 
and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  her 
reappear  at  a  lesser  distance.  But  the  con 
tinual  intervention  of  the  massive  trunks 
made  the  chase  by  no  means  an  easy  one, 
and  as  he  could  not  keep  her  always  in  sight 
he  was  unable  to  follow  or  understand  the 
one  intelligent  direction  which  she  seemed 
to  invariably  keep.  Nevertheless,  he  gained 
upon  her  breathlessly,  and,  thanks  to  the 
bark-strewn  floor,  noiselessly.  He  was  near 
enough  to  distinguish  and  recognize  the  dress 
she  wore,  a  pale  yellow,  that  he  had  admired 
when  he  first  saw  her.  It  was  Nellie,  un 
mistakably  ;  if  it  were  she  of  the  brown 
duster,  she  had  discarded  it,  perhaps  for 
greater  freedom.  He  was  near  enough  to 
call  out  now,  but  a  sudden  nervous  timidity 
overcame  him;  his  lips  grew  dry.  AVhat 
should  he  say  to  her?  How  account  for  liis 
presence  ?  "  Miss  Nellie,  one  moment !  V 
lu>  gasped.  She  darted  forward  and  —  van 
ished. 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  59 

At  this  moment  he  was  not  more  than  a 
dozen  yards  from  her.  He  rushed  to  where 
she  had  been  standing,  but  her  disappear 
ance  was  perfect  and  complete.  He  made  a 
circuit  of  the  group  of  trees  within  whose 
radius  she  had  last  appeared,  but  there  was 
neither  trace  of  her,  nor  a  suggestion  of  her 
mode  of  escape.  He  called  aloud  to  her  ; 
the  vacant  Woods  let  his  helpless  voice  die 
in  their  unresponsive  depths.  He  gazed  into 
the  air  and  down  at  the  bark-strewn  carpet 
at  his  feet.  Like  most  of  his  vocation,  he 
was  sparing  of  speech,  and  epigrammatic 
after  his  fashion.  Comprehending  in  one 
swift  but  despairing  flash  of  intelligence  the 
existence  of  some  fateful  power  beyond  his 
own  weak  endeavor,  he  accepted  its  logical 
result  with  characteristic  grimness,  threw  his 
hat  upon  the  ground,  put  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  said  — 

"  Well,  I  'm  d- 


CHAPTER  III. 

Our  of  compliment  to  Miss  Nellie  Wynn, 
Yuba  Bill,  on  reaching  Indian  Spring,  had 
made  a  slight  detour  to  enable  him  to  osten 
tatiously  set  down  his  fair  passenger  before 
the  door  of  the  Burnhams.  AVlien  it  had 
closed  on  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  passengers 
and  the  coach  had  rattled  away,  Miss  Nellie, 
without  any  undue  haste  or  apparent  change 
in  her  usual  quiet  demeanor,  managed,  how- 
ever,  to  dispatch  her  business  promptly,  and, 
leaving  an  impression  that  she  would  call 
again  before  her  return  to  Kxcelsior,  parted 
from  her  friends,  and  slipped  away  through 
a  side  street,  to  the  General  Furnishing  Store 
of  Indian  Spring.  In  passing  this  empori 
um,  Miss  Nellie's  quick  eye  had  discovered 
a  cheap  brown  linen  duster  hanging  in  its 
window.  To  purchase  it,  and  put  it  over 


IN  THE  CARQUJNEZ   WOODS.  61 

her  delicate  cambric  dress,  albeit  with  a 
shivering  sense  that  she  looked  like  a  badly 
folded  brown-paper  parcel,  did  not  take  long. 
As  she  left  the  shop  it  was  with  mixed  emo 
tions  of  chagrin  and  security  that  she  noticed 
that  her  passage  through  the  settlement  no 
longer  turned  the  heads  of  its  male  inhab 
itants.  She  -reached  the  outskirts  of  Indian 
Spring  and  the  high-road  at  about  the  time 
Mr.  Brace  had  begun  his  fruitless  patrol  of 
the  main  street.  Far  in  the  distance  a  faint 
olive-green  table  mountain  seemed  to  rise 
abruptly  from  the  plain.  It  was  the  Car- 
quinez  Woods.  Gathering  her  spotless  skirts 
beneath  her  extemporized  brown  domino,  she 
set  out  briskly  towards  them. 

But  her  progress  was  scarcely  free  or  ex 
hilarating.  She  was  not  accustomed  to  walk 
ing  in  a  country  where  "  buggy-riding  "  was 
considered  the  only  genteel  young-lady-like 
mode  of  progression,  and  its  regular  provision 
the  expected  courtesy  of  mankind.  Always 
fastidiously  booted,  her  low-quartered  shoes 


62  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

were  charming  to  the  eye,  but  hardly  adapt 
ed  to  the  dustand  in  equalities  of  the  high 
road.  It  was  true  that  she  had  thought  of 
buying  a  coarser  pair  at  Indian  Spring,  but 
once  face  to  face  with  their  uncompromis 
ing  ugliness,  she  had  faltered  and  fled.  The 
sun  was  unmistakably  hot,  but  her  parasol 
was  too  well  known  and  offered  too  violent 
a  contrast  to  the  duster  for  practical  use. 
Once  she  stopped  with  an  exclamation  of  an 
noyance,  hesitated,  and  looked  back.  In 
half  an  hour  she  had  twice  lost  her  shoe  and 
her  temper ;  a  pink  flush  took  possession  of 
her  cheeks,  and  her  eyes  were  bright  with 
suppressed  rage.  Dust  began  to  form  grimy 
circles  around  their  orbits;  with  cat-like 
shivers  she  even  felt  it  pervade  the  roots  of 
her  blonde  hair.  Gradually  her  breath  grew 
more  rapid  and  hysterical,  her  smarting  eyes 
became  humid,  and  at  last,  encountering 
two  observant  horsemen  in  the  road,  she 
turned  and  fled,  until,  reaching  the  wood, 
she  began  to  cry. 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  63 

Nevertheless  she  waited  for  the  two  horse 
men  to  pass,  to  satisfy  herself  that  she  was 
not  followed  ;  then  pushed  on  vaguely,  until 
she  reached  a  fallen  tree,  where,  with  a  ges 
ture  of  disgust,  she  tore  off  her  hapless  dus 
ter  and  flung  it  on  the  ground.  She  then 
sat  down  sobbing,  but  after  a  moment  dried 
her  eyes  hurriedly  and  started  to  her  feet. 
A  few  paces  distant,  erect,  noiseless,  with 
outstretched  hand,  the  young  solitary  of  the 
Carquinez  Woods  advanced  towards  her. 
His  hand  had  almost  touched  hers,  when  he 
stopped. 

"  What  has  happened  ?  "  he  asked  gravely. 

"Nothing,"  she  said,  turning  half  away, 
and  searching  the  ground  with  her  eyes,  as 
if  she  had  lost  something.  "  Only  I  must 
be  going  back  now." 

"  You  shall  go  back  at  once,  if  you  wish 
it,"  he  said,  flushing  slightly.  "But  you 
have  been  crying ;  why  ?  " 

Frank  as  Miss  Nellie  wished  to  be,  she 
could  not  bring  herself  to  say  that  her 


64  IN  THE  CARQUJNEZ  WOODS, 

feet  hurt  her,  and  the  dust  and  heat  wore 
ruining  her  complexion.  It  was  therefore 
with  a  half-confident  belief  that  her  troubles 
were  really  of  a  moral  quality  that  she  an 
swered,  "  Nothing  —  nothing,  but  —  but  — 
it 's  wrong  to  come  here." 

"But  you  did  not  think  it  was  wrong 
when  you  agreed  to  come,  at  our  last  meet 
ing,"  said  the  young  man,  with  that  persist 
ent  logic  which  exasperates  the  inconsequent 
feminine  mind.  "It  cannot  be  any  more 
wrong  to-day." 

"  But  it  was  not  so  far  oif,"  murmured  the 
young  girl,  without  looking  up. 

"  Oh,  the  distance  makes  it  more  improp 
er,  then,"  he  said  abstractedly;  but  after  a 
moment's  contemplation  of  her  half-averted 
face, he  asked  gravely,  "  Has  any  one  talked 
to  you  about  me  ?  " 

Ten  minutes  before,  Nellie  had  been  burn 
ing  to  unburthen  herself  of  her  father's 
warning,  but  now  she  felt  she  would  not. 
"I  wisli  yon  wouldn't  call  yourself  Low,'* 
she  said  at  last. 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  65 

"  But  it 's  my  naine,"  he  replied  quietly. 

"  Nonsense  !  It 's  only  a  stupid  transla 
tion  of  a  stupid  nickname.  They  might  as 
well  call  you  '  Water  '  at  once." 

"  But  you  said  you  liked  it." 

"  Well,  so  I  do.     But  don't  you  see  —  I 

—  oh  dear !  you  don't  understand." 

Low  did  not  reply,  but  turned  his  head 
with  resigned  gravity  towards  the  deeper 
woods.  Grasping  the  barrel  of  his  rifle 
with  his  left  hand,  he  threw  his  right  arm 
across  his  left  wrist  and  leaned  slightly  upon 
it  with  the  habitual  ease  of  a  Western  hunter 

—  doubly  picturesque  in  his  own  lithe,  youth 
ful  symmetry.      Miss  Nellie  looked  at  him 
from  under  her  eyelids,  and  then  half  defi 
antly  raised  her  head  and  her  dark  lashes. 
Gradually  an  almost  magical  change  came 
over  her  features  ;  her  eyes  grew  larger  and 
more  and  more  yearning,  until  they  seemed 
to  draw  and  absorb  in  their  liquid  depths  the 
figure  of  the  young  man  before  her ;    her 
cold  face  broke  into  an  ecstasy  of  light  and 


66  JN  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS. 

color ;  her  humid  lips  parted  in  a  bright,  wel 
coming  smile,  until,  with  an  irresistible  im 
pulse,  she  arose,  and  throwing  buck  her  head 
stretched  towards  him  two  hands  full  of 
vague  and  trembling  passion. 

In  another  moment  he  had  seized  them, 
kissed  them,  and,  as  he  drew  her  closer  to 
his  embrace,  felt  them  tighten  around  his 
neck.  "  But  what  mime  do  you  wish  to  call 
me  ?  "  he  asked,  looking  down  into  her  eyes. 

Miss  Nellie  murmured  something  confi 
dentially  to  the  third  button  of  his  hunting 
shirt.'  "But  that,"  he  replied,  with  a  faint 
smile,  "t'/t(ft  wouldn't  be  any  more  practical, 
and  you  wouldn't  want  others  to  call  me 
dar —  "  Her  fingers  loosened  around  his 
neck,  she  drew  her  head  back,  and  a  singular 
expression  passed  over  her  face,  which  to 
any  calmer  observer  than  a  lover  woidd  have 
seemed,  however,  to  indicate  more  curiosity 
than  jealousy. 

"  Who  else  does  call  you  so  ?  "  she  added 
earnestly.  "  How  many,  for  instance  ?  " 


IN  THE   CARQ.U1NEZ  WOODS.  67 

Low's  reply  was  addressed  not  to  her  ear, 
but  her  lips.  She  did  not  avoid  it,  but 
added,  "  And  do  you  kiss  them  all  like 
that?"  Taking  him  by  the  shoulders,  she 
held  him  a  little  way  from  her,  and  gazed  at 
him  from  head  to  foot.  Then  drawing  him 
again  to  her  embrace,  she  said,  "  I  don't 
care,  at  least  no  woman  has  kissed  you  like 
that."  Happy,  dazzled,  and  embarrassed, 
he  was  beginning  to  stammer  the  truthful 
protestation  that  rose  to  his  lips,  but  she 
stopped  him :  "  No,  don't  protest !  say  noth 
ing  !  Let  me  love  you  —  that  is  all.  It  is 
enough."  He  would  have  caught  her  in  his 
arms  again,  but  she  drew  back.  "  We  are 
near  the  road,"  she  said  quietly.  "  Come ! 
you  promised  to  show  me  where  you  camped. 
Let  us  make  the  most  of  our  holiday.  In  an 
hour  I  must  leave  the  woods." 

"  But  I  shall  accompany  you,  dearest." 

"No,  I  must  go  as  I  came  —  alone." 

" But  Nellie"  — 

"  I  tell  you  no,"  she  said,  with  an  almost 


68  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS. 

harsh  practical  decision,  incompatible  with 
her  previous  abandonment.  "  We  might  be 
seen  together." 

"  Well,  suppose  we  are ;  we  must  be  seen 
together  eventually,"  he  remonstrated. 

The  young  girl  made  an  involuntary  ges 
ture  of  impatient  negation,  but  checked  her 
self.  "  Don't  let  us  talk  of  that  now.  Come, 
while  I  am  here  under  your  own  roof  "  — 
she  pointed  to  the  high  interlaced  boughs 
above  them  —  "  you  must  be  hospitable. 
Show  me  your  home ;  tell  me,  is  n't  it  a  little 
gloomy  sometimes  ?  " 

"  It  never  has  been  ;  I  never  thought  it 
irotthl  be  until  the  moment  you  leave  it  to- 
day." 

She  pressed  his  hand  briefly  and  in  a 
half-perfunctory  way,  as  if  her  vanity  had 
accepted  and  dismissed  the  compliment. 
"Take  me  somewhere,"  she  said  inquisi 
tively,  "  where  you  stay  most ;  I  do  not  seem 
to  see  you  here"  she  added,  looking  around 
her  with  a  slight  shiver.  "  It  is  so  big  and 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS.  69 

so  high.  Have  you  no  place  where  you  eat 
and  rest  and  sleep  ?  " 

"  Except  in  the  rainy  season,  I  camp  all 
over  the  place  —  at  any  spot  where  I  may 
have  been  shooting  or  collecting." 

"  Collecting  ?  "  queried  Nellie. 

u  Yes  ;  with  the  herbarium,  you  know." 

"  Yes,"  said  Nellie  dubiously.  "  But  you 
told  me  once  — the  first  time  we  ever  talked 
together,"  she  added,  looking  in  his  eyes  — 
"  something  about  your  keeping  your  things 
like  a  squirrel  in  a  tree.  Could  we  not  go 
there  ?  Is  there  not  room  for  us  to  sit  and 
talk  without  being  browbeaten  and  looked 
down  upon  by  these  supercilious  trees  ?  " 

"  It 's  too  far  away,"  said  Low  truthfully, 
but  with  a  somewhat  pronounced  emphasis, 
"  much  too  far  for  you  just  now  ;  and  it  lies 
on  another  trail  that  enters  the  wood  beyond. 
But  come,  I  will  show  you  a  spring  known 
only  to  myself,  the  wood  ducks,  and  the 
squirrels.  I  discovered  it  the  first  day  I  saw 
you,  and  gave  it  your  name.  But  you  shall 


70  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS. 

christen  it  yourself.  It  will  be  all  yours, 
and  yours  alone,  for  it  is  so  hidden  and  se 
cluded  that  I  defy  any  feet  but  my  own  or 
whoso  shall  keep  step  with  mine  to  find  it. 
Shall  that  foot  be  yours,  Nellie?" 

Her  face  beamed  with  a  bright  assent. 
"  It  may  be  difficult  to  track  it  from  here," 
he  said,  "but  stand  where  you  are  a  mo 
ment,  and  don't  move,  rustle,  nor  agitate 
the  air  in  any  way.  The  woods  are  still 
now."  He  turned  at  right  angles  with  the 
trail,  moved  a  few  paces  into  the  ferns  and 
underbrush,  and  then  stopped  with  his  finger 
on  his  lips.  For  an  instant  both  remained 
motionless  ;  then  with  his  intent  face  bent 
forward  and  both  arms  extended,  he  began 
to  sink  slowly  upon  one  knee  and  one  side, 
inclining  his  body  with  a  gentle,  perfectly- 
graduated  movement  until  his  ear  almost 
touched  the  ground.  Nellie  watched  his 
graceful  figure  breathlessly,  until,  like  a  bow 
unbent,  he  stood  suddenly  erect  again,  and 
beckoned  to  her  without  changing  the  direc 
tion  of  his  face. 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS.  71 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

"  All  ri'ght ;  I  have  found  it,"  he  contin 
ued,  moving-  forward  without  turning  his 
head. 

"But  how?  What  did  you  kneel  for?" 
He  did  not  reply,  but  taking  her  hand  in  his 
continued  to  move  slowly  on  through  the 
underbrush,  as  if  obeying  some  magnetic  at 
traction.  "How  did  you  find  it?"  again 
asked  the  half-awed  girl,  her  voice  uncon 
sciously  falling  to  a  whisper.  Still  silent, 
Low  kept  his  rigid  face  and  forward  tread 
for  twenty  yards  further ;  then  he  stopped 
and  released  the  girl's  half-impatient  hand. 
"How  did  you  find  it?"  she  repeated 
sharply. 

"With  my  ears  and  nose,"  replied  Low 
gravely. 

"  With  your  nose  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  smelt  it." 

Still  fresh  with  the  memory  of  his  pictur 
esque  attitude,  the  young  man's  reply  seemed 
to  involve  something  more  irritating  to  her 


72  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS. 

feelings  than  even  that  absurd  anti-climax. 
She  looked  at  him  coldly  and  critically,  and 
appeared  to  hesitate  whether  to  proceed. 
"Is  it  far?"  she  asked. 

"Not  more  than  ten  minutes  now,  as  I 
shall  go." 

"  And  you  won't  have  to  smell  your  way 

*        O  99 

again : 

"  No ;  it  is  quite  plain  now,"  he  answered 
seriously,  the  young  girl's  sarcasm  slip 
ping  harmlessly  from  his  Indian  stolidity. 
"  Don't  you  smell  it  yourself  ?  " 

But  Miss  Nellie's  thin,  cold  nostrils  re 
fused  to  take  that  vulgar  interest. 

"Nor  hear  it?     Listen!" 

"You  forget  I  suffer  the  misfortune  of 
having  been  brought  up  under  a  roof,"  she 
replied  coldly. 

"That's  true,"  repeated  Low,  in  all  seri 
ousness  ;  "  it 's  not  your  fault.  But  do  you 
know,  I  sometimes  think  I  am  peculiarly 
sensitive  to  water;  I  feel  it  miles  away. 
At  night,  though  I  may  not  see  it  or  even 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  73 

know  where  it  is,  I  am  conscious  of  it.  It 
is  company  to  me  when  I  am  alone,  and  I 
seem  to  hear  it  in  my  dreams.  There  is  no 
music  as  sweet  to  me  as  its  song.  When 
you  sang  with  me  that  day  in  church,  I 
seemed  to  hear  it  ripple  in  your  voice.  It 
says  to  me  more  than  the  birds  do,  more 
than  the  rarest  plants  I  find.  It  seems  to 
live  with  me  and  for  me.  It  is  my  earliest 
recollection ;  I  know  it  will  be  my  last,  for 
I  shall  die  in  its  embrace.  Do  you  think, 
Nellie,"  he  continued,  stopping  short  and 
gazing  earnestly  in  her  face  —  "do  you  think 
that  the  chiefs  knew  this  when  they  called 
me  '  Sleeping  Water '?" 

To  Miss  Nellie's  several  gifts  I  fear  the 
gods  had  not  added  poetry ."  A  slight  knowl 
edge  of  English  verse  of  a  select  character, 
unfortunately,  did  not  assist  her  in  the  inter 
pretation  of  the  young  man's  speech,  nor  re 
lieve  her  from  the  momentary  feeling  that 
he  was  at  times  deficient  in  intellect.  She 
preferred,  however,  to  take  a  personal  view 


74  IN  THE   CARQUJNEZ    WOODS. 

of  the  question,  and  expressed  her  sarcastic 
regret  that  she  had  not  known  before  that 
she  had  been  indebted  to  the  great  flume 
and  ditch  at  Excelsior  for  the  pleasure  of  his 
acquaintance.  This  pert  remark  occasioned 
some  explanation,  which  ended  in  the  girl's 
accepting  a  kiss  in  lieu  of  more  logical  argu 
ment.  Nevertheless,  she  was  still  conscious 
of  an  inward  irritation  —  always  distinct 
from  her  singular  and  perfectly  material 
passion  —  which  found  vent  as  the  difficul 
ties  of  their  undeviating  progress  through 
the  underbrush  increased.  At  last  she  lost 
her  shoe  again,  and  stopped  short.  "  It 's  a 
pity  your  Indian  friends  did  not  christen 
you  4  Wild  Mustard '  or  4  Clover,'  "  she  said 
satirically,  "  that  you  might  have  had  some 
sympathies  and  longings  for  the  open  fields 
instead  of  these  horrid  jungles !  I  know  we 
will  not  get  back  in  time." 

Unfortunately,  Low  accepted  this  speech 
literally  and  with  his  remorseless  gravity. 
"  If  my  name  annoys  you,  I  can  get  it 


JN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  75 

changed  by  the  legislature,  you  know,  and  I 
can  find  out  what  my  father's  name  was,  and 
take  that.  My  mother,  who  died  in  giving 
me  birth,  was  the  daughter  of  a  chief." 

"Then  your  mother  was  really  an  In 
dian  ?  "  said  Nellie,  "  and  you  are  "  —  She 
stopped  short. 

"  But  I  told  you  all  this  the  day  we  first 
met,"  said  Low,  with  grave  astonishment. 
"  Don't  you  remember  our  long  talk  coming 
from  church  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Nellie  coldly,  "you  didn't  tell 
me."  But  she  was  obliged  to  drop  her  eyes 
before  the  unwavering,  undeniable  truthful 
ness  of  his. 

"You  have  forgotten,"  he  said  calmly; 
"  but  it  is  only  right  you  should  have  your 
own  way  in  disposing  of  a  name  that  I  have 
cared  little  for  ;  and  as  you  're  to  have  a 
share  of  it "  — 

"  Yes,  but  it 's  getting  late,  and  if  we  are 
not  going  forward"  —  interrupted  the  girl 
impatiently. 


76  IN  THE   CARQ.UINKZ  WOODS. 

"  We  are  going  forward,"  said  Low  im- 
perturbably ;  "  but  I  wanted  to  tell  you,  as 
we  were  speaking  on  that  subject"  (Nellie 
looked  at  her  watch),  "  I  've  been  offered  the 
place  of  botanist  and  naturalist  in  Pro 
fessor  Grant's  survey  of  Mount  Shasta,  and 
if  I  take  it  —  why,  when  I  come  back,  dar 
ling —  well"  — 

"  But  you  're  not  going  just  yet,"  broke 
in  Nellie,  with  a  new  expression  in  her  face. 

"No." 

"  Then  we  need  not  talk  of  it  now,"  she 
said,  with  animation. 

Her  sudden  vivacity  relieved  him.  "  I  see 
what 's  the  matter,"  he  said  gently,  looking 
down  at  her  feet ;  "  these  little  shoes  were 
not  made  to  keep  step  with  a  moccasin.  We 
must  try  another  way."  He  stooped  as  if 
to  secure  the  erring  buskin,  but  suddenly 
lifted  her  like  a  child  to  his  shoulder. 
"  There,"  he  continued,  placing  her  arm 
round  his  neck,  "you  are  clear  of  the  ferns 
and  brambles  now,  and  we  can  go  on.  Are 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS.  77 

you  comfortable  ?  "  He  looked  up,  read  her 
answer  in  her  burning  eyes  and  the  warm 
lips  pressed  to  his  forehead  at  the  roots  of 
his  straight  dark  hair,  and  again  moved  on 
ward  as  in  a  mesmeric  dream.  But  he  did 
not  swerve  from  his  direct  course,  and  with 
a  final  dash  through  the  undergrowth  parted 
the  leafy  curtain  before  the  spring. 

At  first  the  young  girl  was  dazzled  by  the 
strong  light  that  came  from  a  rent  in  the  in 
terwoven  arches  of  the  wood.  The  breach 
had  been  caused  by  the  huge  bulk  of  one  of 
the  great  giants  that  had  half  fallen,  and  was 
lying  at  a  steep  angle  against  one  of  its 
mightiest  brethren,  having  borne  down  a 
lesser  tree  in  the  arc  of  its  downward  path. 
Two  of  the  roots^  as  large  as  younger  trees, 
tossed  their  blackened  and  bare  limbs  high 
in  the  air.  The  spring — the  insignificant 
cause  of  this  vast  disruption  —  gurgled, 
flashed,  and  sparkled  at  the  base ;  the  limpid 
baby  fingers  that  had  laid  bare  the  founda 
tions  of  that  fallen  column  played  with  the 


78  JN  THE  CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS. 

still  clinging  rootlets,  laved  the  fractured 
and  twisted  limbs,  and,  widening,  filled  with 
sleeping  water  the  graves  from  which  they 
had  been  torn. 

"  It  had  been  going  on  for  years,  down 
there,"  said  Low,  pointing  to  a  cavity  from 
which  the  fresh  water  now  slowly  welled, 
"  but  it  had  been  quickened  by  the  rising  of 
the  subterranean  springs  and  rivers  which 
always  occurs  at  a  certain  stage  of  the  dry 
season.  I  remember  that  on  that  very  night 
—  for  it  happened  a  little  after  midnight, 
when  all  sounds  are  more  audible  —  I  was 
troubled  and  oppressed  in  my  sleep  by  what 
you  would  call  a  nightmare  ;  a  feeling  as  if 
I  was  kept  down  by  bonds  and  pinions  that 
I  longed  to  break.  And  then  I  heard  a 
crash  in  this  direction,  and  the  first  streak  of 
morning  brought  me  the  sound  and  scent  of 
water.  Six  months  afterwards  I  chanced  to 
find  my  way  here,  as  I  told  yon,  and  gave  it 
your  name.  I  did  not  dream  that  I  should 
ever  stand  beside  it  with  you,  and  have  you 
christen  it  yourself." 


IN  THE  CAR QU1NEZ  WOODS.      79 

He  unloosed  the  cup  from  his  flask,  and 
filling  it  at  the  spring  handed  it  to  her.  But 
the  young  girl  leant  over  the  pool,  and  pour 
ing  the  water  idly  back  said,  "  I  'd  rather  put 
my  feet  in  it.  May  n't  I  ?  " 

"  I  don't  understand  you,"  he  said  won- 
deringly. 

"  My  feet  are  so  hot  and  dusty.  The 
water  looks  deliciously  cool.  May  I  ?  " 

"  Certainly." 

He  turned  away  as  Nellie,  with  apparent 
unconsciousness,  seated  herself  on  the  bank, 
and  removed  Her  shoes  and  stockings.  When 
she  had  dabbled  her  feet  a  few  moments  in 
the  pool,  she  said  over  her  shoulder  — 

"  We  can  talk  just  as  well,  can't  we  ?  " 

"Certainly." 

"  Well,  then,  why  did  n't  you  come  to 
church  more  often,  and  why  did  n't  you  think 
of  telling  father  that  you  were  convicted  of 
sin  and  wanted  to  be  baptized  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  hesitated  the  young  man. 

"Well,   you   lost   the   chance  of   having 


80  AY   THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS. 

father  convert  you,  baptize  you,  and  take 
you  into  full  church  fellowship." 

"  I  never  thought  "  —  he  began. 

"  You  never  thought.  Are  n't  you  a  Chris 
tian?" 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  He  supposes  so  !  Have  you  no  convic 
tions  —  no  profession  ?  " 

"  But,  Nellie,  I  never  thought  that  you  " — 

"  Never  thought  that  I  -  -  what  ?  Do 
you  think  that  I  could  ever  be  anything  to  a 
man  who  did  not  believe  in  justification  by 
faith,  or  in  the  covenant  of  church  fellow 
ship  ?  Do  you  think  father  would  let  me  ?  " 

In  his  eagerness  to  defend  himself  he 
stepped  to  her  side.  But  seeing  her  little 
feet  shining  through  the  dark  water,  like 
outcroppings  of  delicately  veined  quartz,  he 
stopped  embarrassed.  Miss  Nellie,  however, 
leaped  to  one  foot,  and,  shaking  the  other 
over  the  pool,  put  her  hand  on  his  shoulder 
to  steady  herself.  "  You  have  n't  got  a  towel 
—  or,"  she  said  dubiously,  looking  at  her 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  81 

small  handkerchief,  "  anything  to  dry  them 
on?" 

But  Low  did  not,  as  she  perhaps  expected, 
offer  his  own  handkerchief. 

"  If  you  take  a  bath  after  our  fashion," 
he  said  gravely,  "you  must  learn  to  dry 
yourself  after  our  fashion." 

Lifting  her  again  lightly  in  his  arms,  he 
carried  her  a  few  steps  to  the  sunny  opening, 
and  bade  her  bury  her  feet  in  the  dried 
mosses  and  baked  withered  grasses  that  were 
bleaching  in  a  hollow.  The  young  girl  ut 
tered  a  cry  of  childish  delight,  as  the  soft 
ciliated  fibres  touched  her  sensitive  skin. 

"  It  is  healing,  too,"  continued  Low ;  "  a 
moccasin  filled  with  it  after  a  day  on  the 
trail  makes  you  all  right  again." 

But  Miss  Nellie  seemed  to  be  thinking  of 
something  else. 

"  Is  that  the  way  the  squaws  bathe  and 
dry  themselves  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  ;  you  forget  I  was  a  boy 
when  I  left  them." 


82  IN  THE   CARQ.U1NEZ  WOODS. 

44  And  you  're  sure  you  never  knew  any  ?  " 

"None." 

The  young  girl  seemed  to  derive  some  sat 
isfaction  in  moving  her  feet  up  and  down  for 
several  minutes  among  the  grasses  in  the  hol 
low  ;  then,  after  a  pause,  said,  "  You  are  quite 
certain  I  am  the  first  woman  that  ever 
touched  this  spring  ?  " 

44  Not  only  the  first  woman,  but  the  first 
human  being,  except  myself." 

44  How  nice  !  " 

They  had  taken  each  other's  hands  ;  seated 
side  by  side,  they  leaned  against  a  curving 
elastic  root  that  half  supported,  half  encom 
passed,  them.  The  girl's  capricious,  fitful 
manner  succumbed  as  before  to  the  near  con 
tact  of  her  companion.  Looking  into  her 
eyes,  Low  fell  into  a  sweet,  selfish  lover's 
monologue,  descriptive  of  his  past  and  pres 
ent  feelings  towards  her,  which  she  accepted 
with  a  heightened  color,  a  slight  exchange 
of  sentiment,  and  a  strange  curiosity.  The 
sun  had  painted  their  half -embraced  silhou- 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS.  83 

ettes  against  the  slanting  tree-trunk,  and  be 
gan  to  decline  unnoticed  ;  the  ripple  of  the 
water  mingling  with  their  whispers  came  as 
one  sound  to  the  listening  ear  ;  even  their  el 
oquent  silences  were  as  deep,  and,  I  wot,  per 
haps  as  dangerous,  as  the  darkened  pool  that 
filled  so  noiselessly  a  dozen  yards  away.  So 
quiet  were  they  that  the  tremor  of  invading 
wings  once  or  twice  shook  the  silence,  or  the 
quick  scamper  of  frightened  feet  rustled  the 
dead  grass.  But  in  the  midst  of  a  prolonged 
stillness  the  young  man  sprang  up  so  sudden 
ly  that  Nellie  was  still  half  clinging  to  his 
neck  as  he  stood  erect.  "  Hush  !  "  he  whis 
pered  ;  "  some  one  is  near !  " 

He  disengaged  her  anxious  hands  gently, 
leaped  upon  the  slanting  tree-trunk,  and  run 
ning  half-way  up  its  incline  with  the  agility 
of  a  squirrel,  stretched  himself  at  full  length 
upon  it  and  listened. 

To  the  impatient,  inexplicably  startled  girl, 
it  seemed  an  age  before  he  rejoined  her. 

"  You  are  safe,"  he  said  ;  "  he  is  going  by 
the  western  trail  towards  Indian  Spring." 


84  AY    THE    ('ARWIXEZ    WOODS. 


"  Who  is  he  ?  "  she  asked,  biting  her  lips 
with  a  poorly  restrained  gesture  of  mortifica 
tion  and  disappointment. 

"  Some  stranger,"  replied  Low. 

"  As  long  as  he  was  n't  coming  here,  why 
did  you  give  me  such  a  fright?"  she  said 
pettishly.  "  Are  you  nervous  because  a  sin 
gle  wayfarer  happens  to  stray  here  ?  " 

"  It  was  no  wayfarer,  for  he  tried  to  keep 
near  the  trail,"  said  Low.  "  He  was  a 
stranger  to  the  wood,  for  he  lost  his  way 
every  now  and  then.  He  was  seeking  or  ex 
pecting  some  one,  for  he  stopped  frequently 
and  waited  or  listened.  He  had  not  walked 
far,  for  he  wore  spurs  that  tinkled  and  caught 
in  the  brush  ;  and  yet  he  had  not  ridden  here, 
for  no  horse's  hoofs  passed  the  road  since  we 
have  been  here.  He  must  have  come  from 
Indian  Spring." 

"  And  you  heard  all  that  when  you  listened 
just  now  ?  "  asked  Nellie,  half  disdainfully. 

Impervious  to  her  incredulity  Low  turned 
his  calm  eyes  on  her  face.  "  Certainly,  I  '11 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  85 

bet  my  life  on  what  I  say.  Tell  me  :  do  you 
know  anybody  in  Indian  Spring  who  would 
likely  spy  -upon  you  ?  " 

The  young  girl  was  conscious  of  a  certain 
ill-defined  uneasiness,  but  answered,  "  No." 

"  Then  it  was  not  you  he  was  seeking," 
said  Low  thoughtfully.  Miss  Nellie  had  not 
time  to  notice  the  emphasis,  for  he  added, 
"  You  must  go  at  once,  and  lest  you  have 
been  followed  I  will  show  you  another  way 
back  to  Indian  Spring.  It  is  longer,  and  you 
must  hasten.  Take  your  shoes  and  stockings 
with  you  until  we  are  out  of  the  bush." 

He  raised  her  again  in  his  arms  and  strode 
once  more  out  through  the  covert  into  the 
dim  aisles  of  the  wood.  They  spoke  but 
little ;  she  could  not  help  feeling  that  some 
other  discordant  element,  affecting  him  more 
strongly  than  it  did  her,  had  come  between 
them,  and  was  half  perplexed  and  half  fright 
ened.  At  the  end  of  ten  minutes  he  seated 
her  upon  a  fallen  branch,  and  telling  her  he 
would  return  by  the  time  she  had  resumed 


86  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

her  shoes  and  stocking's  glided  from  her  like 
:i  shadow.  She  would  have  tittered  an  in 
dignant  protest  at  being  left  alone,  but  he 
was  gone  ere  she  could  detain  him.  For  a 
moment  she  thought  she  hated  him.  But 
when  she  had  mechanically  shod  herself  once 
more,  not  without  nervous  shivers  at  every 
falling  needle,  he  was  at  her  side. 

"  Do  you  know  any  one  who  wears  a  frieze 
coat  like  that?  "  he  asked,  handing  her  a  few 
torn  shreds  of  wool  affixed  to  a  splinter  of 
bark. 

Miss  Nellie  instantly  recognized  the  mate 
rial  of  a  certain  sporting  coat  worn  by  Mr. 
Jack  Brace  on  festive  occasions,  but  a  strange 
yet  infallible  instinct  that  was  part  of  her 
nature  made  her  instantly  disclaim  all  knowl 
edge  of  it. 

"  No,"  she  said. 

"Not  any  one  who  scents  himself  with 
some  doctor's  stuff  like  cologne  ?  "  continued 
Low,  with  the  disgust  of  keen  olfactory  sen 
sibilities. 


IN  THE   CAKQUINEZ    WOODS.  87 

Again  Miss  Nellie  recognized  the  perfume 
with  which  the  gallant  expressman  was  wont 
to  make  redolent  her  little  parlor,  but  again 
she  avowed  no  knowledge  of  its  posseGsor. 
"  Well,"  returned  Low,  with  some  disappoint 
ment,  "  such  a  man  has  been  here.  Be  on 
your  guard.  Let  us  go  at  once." 

She  required  no  urging  to  hasten  her  steps, 
but  hurried  breathlessly  at  his  side.  He 
had  taken  a  new  trail  by  which  they  left  the 
wood  at  right  angles  with  the  highway,  two 
miles  away.  Following  an  almost  effaced 
mule  track  along  a  slight  depression  of  the 
plain,  deep  enough,  however,  to  hide  them 
from  view,  he  accompanied  her,  until,  rising 
to  the  level  again,  she  saw  they  were  begin 
ning  to  approach  the  highway  and  the  dis 
tant  roofs  of  Indian  Spring.  "  Nobody  meet 
ing  you  now,"  he  whispered,  "  would  suspect 
where  you  had  been.  Good  night !  until 
next  week  —  remember." 

They  pressed  each  other's  hands,  and 
standing  on  the  slight  ridge  outlined  against 


88  JN  THE  CARQUINKZ   WOODS. 

the  paling  sky,  in  full  view  of  the  highway, 
parting  carelessly,  as  if  they  had  been  chance 
met  travelers.  But  Nellie  could  not  restrain 
a  parting  backward  glance  as  she  left  the 
ridge.  Low  had  descended  to  the  deserted 
trail,  and  was  running  swiftly  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Carquinez  Woods. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TERESA  awoke  with  a  start.  It  was  day 
already,  but  how  far  advanced  the  even, 
unchanging,  soft  twilight  of  the  woods  gave 
no  indication.  Her  companion  had  vanished, 
and  to  her  bewildered  senses  so  had  the 
camp-fire,  even  to  its  embers  and  ashes.  Was 
she  awake,  or  had  she  wandered  away  un 
consciously  in  the  night  ?  One  glance  at  the 
tree  above  her  dissipated  the  fancy.  There 
was  the  opening  of  her  quaint  retreat  and 
the  hanging  strips  of  bark,  and  at  the  foot 
of  the  opposite  tree  lay  the  carcass  of  the 
bear.  It  had  been  skinned,  and,  as  Teresa 
thought  with  an  inward  shiver,  already 
looked  half  its  former  size. 

Not  yet  accustomed  to  the  fact  that  a  few 
steps  in  either  direction  around  the  circum 
ference  of  those  great  trunks  produced  the 


90  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

sudden  appearance  or  disappearance  of  any 
figure,  Teresa  uttered  a  slight  scream  as  her 
young  companion  unexpectedly  stepped  to 
her  side.  "  You  see  a  change  here,"  he  said  ; 
"  the  stamped-out  ashes  of  the  camp-fire  lie 
under  the  brush,"  and  he  pointed  to  some 
cleverly  scattered  boughs  and  strips  of  bark 
which  completely  effaced  the  traces  of  last 
night's  bivouac.  "  We  can't  afford  to  call 
the  attention  of  any  packer  or  hunter  who 
might  straggle  this  way  to  this  particular 
spot  and  this  particular  tree ;  the  more  natu 
rally,"  he  added,  "  as  they  always  prefer  to 
camp  over  a»  old  fire."  Accepting  this  ex 
planation  meekly,  as  partly  a  reproach  for 
her  caprice  of  the  previous  night,  Teresa 
hung  her  head. 

"  I  'm  very  sorry,"  she  said,  u  but  wouldn't 
that/'  pointing  to  the  carcass  of  the  bear, 
"  have  made  them  curious  ?  " 

But  Low's  logic  was  relentless. 

"  By  this  time  there  would  have  been  lit 
tle  left  to  excite  cariosity,  if  you  had  been 
willing  to  leave  those  beasts  to  their  work." 


7^  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  91 

"I'm  very  sorry,"  repeated  the  woman, 
her  lips  quivering. 

"  They  are  the  scavengers  of  the  wood,*' 
he  continued  in  a  lighter  tone ;  "  if  you  stay 
here  you  must  try  to  use  them  to  keep  your 
house  clean." 

Teresa  smiled  nervously. 

"  I  mean  that  they  shall  finish  their  work 
to-night,"  he  added,  "  and  I  shall  build  an 
other  camp-fire  for  us  a  mile  from  here  until 
they  do." 

But  Teresa  caught  his  sleeve. 

"No,"  she  said  hurriedly,  " don't,  please, 
for  me.  You  must  not  take  the  trouble,  nor 
the  risk.  Hear  me ;  do,  please.  I  can  bear 
it,  I  will  bear  it  —  to-night.  I  would  have 
borne  it  last  night,  but  it  was  so  strange  — 
and  "  —  she  passed  her  hands  over  her  fore 
head —  "I  think  I  must  have  been  half  mad. 
But  I  am  not  so  foolish  now." 

She  seemed  so  broken  and  despondent 
that  he  replied  reassuringly:  "Perhaps  it 
would  be  better  that  I  should  find  another 


92  IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS. 

hiding-place  for  you,  until  I  can  dispose  of 
that  carcass  so  that  it  will  not  draw  dogs 
after  the  wolves,  and  men  after  them.  Be 
sides,  your  friend  the  sheriff  will  probably 
remember  the  bear  when  he  remembers  any 
thing,  and  try  to  get  on  its  track  again." 

"  He's  a  conceited  fool,"  broke  in  Teresa 
in  a  high  voice,  with  a  slight  return  of  her 
old  fury,  "  or  he  'd  have  guessed  where  that 
shot  came  from ;  and,"  she  added  in  a  lower 
tone,  looking  down  at  her  limp  and  nerveless 
fingers,  "  he  would  n't  have  let  a  poor,  weak, 
nervous  wretch  like  me  get  away." 

"  But  his  deputy  may  put  two  and  two  to 
gether,  and  connect  your  escape  with  it." 

Teresa's  eyes  flashed.  "  It  would  be  like 
the  dog,  just  to  save  his  pride,  to  swear  it 
was  an  ambush  of  my  friends,  and  that  he 
was  ov.erpowered  by  numbers.  Oh  yes !  I  see 
it  all !  "  she  almost  screamed,  lashing  herself 
into  a  rage  at  the  bare  contemplation  of  this 
diminution  of  her  glory.  "  That 's  the  dirty 
lie  he  tells  everywhere,  and  is  telling  now." 


IN  THE   CAR  QU  INEZ   WOODS.  93 

She  stamped  her  feet  and  glanced  sav 
agely  around,  as  if  at  any  risk  to  proclaim 
the  falsehood.  Low  turned  his  impassive, 
truthful  face  towards  her. 

"  Sheriff  Dunn,"  he  began  gravely,  "  is  a 
politician,  and  a  fool  when  he  takes  to  the 
trail  as  a  hunter  of  man  or  beast.  But  he 
is  not  a  coward  nor  a  liar.  Your  chances 
would  be  better  if  he  were  —  if  he  laid  yo'ur 
escape  to  an  ambush  of  your  friends,  than  if 
his  pride  held  you  alone  responsible." 

"  If  he 's  such  a  good  man,  why  do  you  hes 
itate?"  she  replied  bitterly.  "Why  don't 
you  give  me  up  at  once,  and  do  a  service  to 
one  of  your  friends  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  even  know  him,"  returned  Low, 
opening  his  clear  eyes  upon  her.  "  I  Ve  prom 
ised  to  hide  you  here,  and  I  shall  hide  you 
as  well  from  him  as  from  anybody." 

Teresa  did  not  reply,  but  suddenly  drop 
ping  down  upon  the  ground  buried  her  face 
in  her  hands  and  began  to  sob  convulsive 
ly.  Low  turned  impassively  away,  and  put- 


94  IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS. 

ting  aside  the  bark  curtain  climbed  into  the 
hollow  tree.  In  a  few  moments  he  reap 
peared,  laden  with  provisions  and  a  few  sim 
ple  cooking  utensils,  and  touched  her  lightly 
on  the  shoulder.  She  looked  up  timidly ;  the 
paroxysm  had  passed,  but  her  lashes  yet 
glittered. 

"  Come,"  he  said,  "  come  and  get  some 
breakfast.  I  find  you  have  eaten  nothing 
since  you  have  been  here  —  twenty  -  four 
hours." 

"  I  did  n't  know  it,"  she  said,  with  a  faint 
smile.  Then  seeing  his  burden,  and  pos 
sessed  by  a  new  and  strange  desire  for  some 
menial  employment,  she  said  hurriedly,  M  Let 
me  carry  something  —  do,  please,"  and  even 
tried  to  disencumber  him. 

Half  annoyed,  Low  at  last  yielded,  and 
handing  his  rifle  said,  "  There,  then,  take 
that ;  but  be  careful  —  it 's  loaded  !  " 

A  cruel  blush  burnt  the  woman's  face  to 
the  roots  of  her  hair  as  she  took  the  weapon 
hesitatingly  in  her  hand. 


IN  THE   CAR  Q.U  INEZ   WOODS.  95 

"  No  !  "  she  stammered,  hurriedly  lifting 
her  shame-suffused  eyes  to  his  ;  "  no  !  no  !  " 

He  turned  away  with  an  impatience  which 
showed  her  how  completely  gratuitous  had 
been  her  agitation  and  its  significance,  and 
said,  "  Well,  then,  give  it  back  if  you  are 
afraid  of  it."  But  she  as  suddenly  declined 
to  return  it ;  and  shouldering  it  deftly,  took 
her  place  by  his  side.  Silently  they  moved 
from  the  hollow  tree  together. 

During  their  walk  she  did  not  attempt 
to  invade  his  taciturnity.  Nevertheless  she 
was  as  keenly  alive  and  watchful  of  his  every 
movement  and  gesture  as  if  she  had  hung 
enchanted  on  his  lips.  The  unerring  way 
with  which  he  pursued  a  viewless,  undeviat- 
ing  path  through  those  trackless  woods,  his 
quick  reconnaissance  of  certain  trees  or  open 
ings,  his  mute  inspection  of  some  almost  im 
perceptible  footprint  of  bird  or  beast,  his 
critical  examination  of  certain  plants  which 
he  plucked  and  deposited  in  his  deerskin 
haversack,  were  not  lost  on  the  quick-witted 


96  IN   THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

woman.  As  they  gradually  changed  the 
clear,  unencumbered  aisles  of  the  central 
woods  for  a  more  tangled  undergrowth,  Te 
resa  felt  that  subtle  admiration  which  culmi 
nates  in  imitation,  and  simulating  perfectly 
the  step,  tread,  and  easy  swing  of  her  com 
panion,  followed  so  accurately  his  lead  that 
she  won  a  gratified  exclamation  from  him 
when  their  goal  was  reached  —  a  broken, 
blackened  shaft,  splintered  by  long-forgotten 
lightning,  in  the  centre  of  a  tangled  carpet 
of  wood-clover. 

"  I  don't  wonder  you  distanced  the  dep 
uty,"  he  said  cheerfully,  throwing  down  his 
burden,  "  if  you  can  take  the  hunting-path 
like  that.  In  a  few  days,  if  you  stay  here,  I 
can  venture  to  trust  you  alone  for  a  little 
pasear  when  you  are  tired  of  the  tree." 

Teresa  looked  pleased,  but  busied  herself 
with  arrangements  for  the  breakfast,  while 
he  gathered  the  fuel  for  the  roaring  fire 
which  soon  blazed  beside  the  shattered  tree. 

Teresa's  breakfast  was  a  success.     It  was 


7iV  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  97 

a  revelation  to  the  young  nomad,  whose  as 
cetic  habits  and  simple  tastes  were  usually 
content  with  the  most  primitive  forms  of 
frontier  cookery.  It  was  at  least  a  surprise 
to  him  to  know  that  without  extra  trouble 
kneaded  flour,  water,  and  saleratus  need  not 
be  essentially  heavy ;  that  coffee  need  not 
be  boiled  with  sugar  to  the  consistency  of 
syrup  ;  that  even  that  rarest  delicacy,  small 
shreds  of  venison  covered  with  ashes  and 
broiled  upon  the  end  of  a  ramrod  boldly 
thrust  into  the  flames,  would  be  better  and 
even  more  expeditiously  cooked  upon  burn 
ing  coals.  Moved  in  his  practical  nature, 
he  was  surprised  to  find  this  curious  creature 
of  disorganized  nerves  and  useless  impulses 
informed  with  an  intelligence  that  did  not 
preclude  the  welfare  of  humanity  or  the 
existence  of  a  soul.  He  respected  her  for 
some  minutes,  until  in  the  midst  of  a  culi 
nary  triumph  a  big  tear  dropped  and  splut 
tered  in  the  saucepan.  But  he  forgave  the 
irrelevancy  by  taking  no  notice  of  it,  and  by 
doing  full  justice  to  that  particular  dish. 


98  AV   THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

Nevertheless,  he  asked  several  questions 
based  upon  these  recently  discovered  quali 
ties.  It  appeared  that  in  the  old  days  of 
her  wanderings  with  the  circus  troupe  she 
had  often  been  forced  to  undertake  this 
nomadic  housekeeping.  But  she  "  despised 
it,"  had  never  done  it  since,  and  always  had 
refused  to  do  it  for  "  him  "  — the  personal 
pronoun  referring,  as  Low  understood,  to 
her  lover,  Curson.  Not  caring  to  revive 
these  memories  further,  Low  briefly  con 
cluded  :  — 

tfc  I  don't  know  what  you  were,  or  what 
you  may  be,  but  from  what  I  see  of  you 
you've  got  all  the  sabe  of  a  frontiermaifs 
wife." 

She  stopped  and  looked  at  him,  and  then, 
with  an  impulse  of  impudence  that  only 
half  concealed  a  more  serious  vanity,  asked, 
"Do  you  think  I  might  have  made  a  good 
squaw?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  replied  quietly.  "  I 
never  saw  enough  of  them  to  know." 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS.  99 

Teresa,  confident  from  his  clear  eyes  that 
he  spoke  the  truth,  but  having  nothing  ready 
to  follow  this  calm  disposal  of  her  curiosity, 
relapsed  into  silence. 

The  meal  finished,  Teresa  washed  their 
scant  table  equipage  in  a  little  spring  near 
the  camp-fire  ;  where,  catching  sight  of  her 
disordered  dress  and  collar,  she  rapidly 
threw  her  shawl,  after  the  national  fashion, 
over  her  shoulder  and  pinned  it  quickly. 
Low  cached  the  remaining  provisions  and 
the  few  cooking  utensils  under  the  dead 
embers  and  ashes,  obliterating  all  superficial 
indication  of  their  camp-fire  as  deftly  and 
artistically  as  he  had  before. 

"  There  is  n't  the  ghost  of  a  chance,"  he 
said  in  explanation,  "  that  anybody  but  you 
or  I  will  set  foot  here  before  we  come  back 
to  supper,  but  it 's  well  to  be  on  guard.  I  '11 
take  you  back  to  the  cabin  now,  though  I 
bet  you  could  find  your  way  there  as  well  as 
I  can." 

On  their  way  back  Teresa  ran  ahead  of 


100  AV    THE   CARQU1NEZ  WOODS. 

her  companion,  and  plucking  a  few  tiny 
leaves  from  a  hidden  oasis  in  tin-  bark-strewn 
trail  brought  them  to  him. 

"  That  's  the  kind  you  're  looking  for, 
is  n't  it  ?  "  she  said,  half  timidly. 

"  It  is,"  responded  Low,  in  gratified  sur 
prise  ;  u  but  how  did  you  know  it  ?  You  're 
not  a  botanist,  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  not,"  said  Teresa ;  "  but  you 
picked  some  when  we  came,  and  I  noticed 
what  they  were." 

Here  was  indeed  another  revelation.  Low 
stopped  and  gazed  at  her  with  such  frank, 
open,  utterly  unabashed  curiosity  that  her 
blaek  eyes  fell  before  him. 

"And  do  you  think,"  he  asked  with  logical 
deliberation,  "  that  you  could  find  any  plant 
from  another  I  should  give  you?" 

"Yes." 

"  Or  from  a  drawing  of  it  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  perhaps  even  if  you  described  it  to 
me." 

A  half-confidential,  half-fraternal  silence 
followed. 


IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS.  101 

"  I  tell  you  what.     I  Ve  got  a  book  "  — 

"  I  know  it,"  interrupted  Teresa ;  "  full  of 
these  things." 

"  Yes.     Do  you  think  you  could  "  — 

"  Of  course  I  could,"  broke  in  Teresa, 
again. 

"  But  you  don't  know  what  I  mean,"  said 
the  imperturbable  Low. 

"  Certainly  I  do.  Why,  find  'em,  and  pre 
serve  all  the  different  ones  for  you  to  write 
under  —  that 's  it,  is  n't  it  ?  " 

Low  nodded  his  head,  gratified  but  not  en 
tirely  convinced  that  she  had  fully  estimated 
the  magnitude  of  the  endeavor. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Teresa,  in  the  feminine 
postcriptum  voice  which  it  would  seem  en 
tered  even  the  philosophical  calm  of  the 
aisles  they  were  treading  —  "I  suppose  that 
she  places,  great  value  on  them  ? " 

Low  had  indeed  heard  Science  personified 
before,  nor  was  it  at  all  impossible  that  the 
singular  woman  walking  by  his  side  had  also. 
He  said  "  Yes ; "  but  added,  in  mental  refer- 


102  IN   THE  CARQU1NEZ    WOODS. 

ence  to  the  Linnean  Society  of  San  Fran 
cisco,  that  "  they  were  rather  particular  about 
the  rarer  kinds." 

Content  as  Teresa  had  been  to  believe  in 
Low's  tender  relations  with  some  favored  one 
of  her  sex,  this  frank  confession  of  a  plural 
devotion  staggered  her. 

"They?"  she  repeated. 

"  Yes,"  he  continued  calmly.  "  The  Bo 
tanical  Society  I  correspond  with  are  more 
particular  than  the  Government  Survey." 

"Then  you  are  doing  this  for  a  society? " 
demanded  Teresa,  with  a  stare. 

"  Certainly.  I  'm  making  a  collection  and 
classification  of  specimens.  I  intend  —  but 
what  are  you  looking  at  ?  " 

Teresa  had  suddenly  turned  away.  Put 
ting  his  hand  lightly  on  her  shoulder,  the 
young  man  brought  her  face  to  face  with  him 
again.  She  was  laughing. 

"  I  thought  all  the  while  it  was  for  a  girl," 
she  said  ;  "  and  "  —  But  here  the  mere  ef 
fort  of  speech  sent  her  off  into  an  audible 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  103 

and  genuine  outburst  of  laughter.  It  was 
the  first  time  he  had  seen  her  even  smile 
other  than  bitterly.  Characteristically  un 
conscious  of  any  humor  in  her  error,  he 
remained  unembarrassed.  But  he  could  not 
help  noticing  a  change  in  the  expression  of 
her  face,  her  voice,  and  even  her  intonation. 
It  seemed  as  if  that  fit  of  laughter  had  loosed 
the  last  ties  that  bound  her  to  a  self-imposed 
character,  had  swept  away  the  last  barrier 
between  her  and  her  healthier  nature,  had 
dispossessed  a  painful  unreality,  and  relieved 
the  morbid  tension  of  a  purely  nervous  atti 
tude.  The  change  in  her  utterance  and  the 
resumption  of  her  softer  Spanish  accent 
seemed  to  have  come  with  her  confidences, 
and  Low  took  leave  of  her  before  their  syl 
van  cabin  with  a  comrade's  heartiness,  and  a 
complete  forgetfulness  that  her  voice  had 
ever  irritated  him. 

When  he  returned  that  afternoon  he  was 
startled  to  find  the  cabin  empty.  But  instead 
of  bearing  any  appearance  of  disturbance  or 


104  IN  THE   CARQUIXI.Z    WOODS. 

hurried  flight,  the  rude  interior  seemed  to 
have  magically  assumed  a  decorous  order  and 
cleanliness  unknown  before.  Fresh  bark  hid 
the  inequalities  of  the  floor.  The  skins  and 
blankets  were  folded  in  the  corners,  the  rude 
shelves  were  carefully  arranged,  even  a  few 
tall  ferns  and  bright  but  quickly  fading- 
flowers  were  disposed  around  the  blackened 
chimney.  She  had  evidently  availed  herself 
of  the  change  of  clothing  he  had  brought  her, 
for  her  late  garments  were  hanging  from  the 
hastily-devised  wooden  pegs  driven  in  the 
wall.  The  young  man  gazed  around  him 
with  mixed  feelings  of  gratification  and  un 
easiness.  His  presence  had  been  dispos 
sessed  in  a  single  hour;  his  ten  years  of 
lonely  habitation  had  left  no  trace  that  this 
woman  had  not  effaced  with  a  deft  move  of 
her  hand.  More  than  that,  it  looked  as  it' 
she  had  always  occupied  it;  and  it  was  with 
a  singular  conviction  that  even  when  she 
should  occupy  it  no  longer  it  would  only  re 
vert  to  him  as  her  dwelling  that  he  dropped 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.     105 

the  bark  shutters  athwart  the  opening,  and 
left  it  to  follow  her. 

To  his  quick  ear,  fine  eye,  and  abnormal 
senses,  this  was  easy  enough.  She  had  gone 
in  the  direction  of  this  morning's  camp. 
Once  or  twice  he  paused  with  a  half-gesture 
of  recognition  and  a  characteristic  "  Good !  " 
at  the  place  where  she  had  stopped,  but  was 
surprised  to  find  that  her  main  course  had 
been  as  direct  as  his  own.  Deviating  from 
this  direct  line  with  Indian  precaution  he 
first  made  a  circuit  of  the  camp,  and  ap 
proached  the  shattered  trunk  from  the  oppo 
site  direction.  He  consequently  came  upon 
Teresa  unawares.  But  the  momentary  as 
tonishment  and  embarrassment  were  his 
alone. 

He  scarcely  recognized  her.  She  was 
wearing  the  garments  he  had  brought  her 
the  day  before  —  a  certain  discarded  gown 
of  Miss  Nellie  Wynn,  which  he  had  hur 
riedly  begged  from  her  under  the  pretext 
of  clothing  the  wife  of  a  distressed  over- 


106        IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

land  emigrant  then  on  the  way  to  the  mines. 
Although  he  had  satisfied  his  conscience 
with  the  intention  of  confessing  the  pions 
fraud  to  her  when  Teresa  was  gone  and  safe 
from  pursuit,  it  was  not  without  a  sense 
of  remorse  that  he  witnessed  the  sacrile 
gious  transformation.  The  two  women  were 
nearly  the  same  height  and  size ;  and  al 
though  Teresa's  maturer  figure  accented  the 
outlines  more  strongly,  it  was  still  becoming 
enough  to  increase  his  irritation. 

Of  this  becomingness  she  was  doubtless  un 
aware  at  the  moment  that  he  surprised  her. 
She  was  conscious  of  having  "  a  change," 
and  this  had  emboldened  her  to  "do  her 
hair  "  and  otherwise  compose  herself.  After 
their  greeting  she  was  the  first  to  allude  to 
the  dress,  regretting  that  it  was  not  more  of 
a  rough  disguise,  and  that,  as  she  must  now 
discard  the  national  habit  of  wearing  her 
shawl  "  manta  "  fashion  over  her  head,  she 
wanted  a  hat.  "  But  you  must  not/'  she 
said,  "  borrow  any  more  dress  for  me  from 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS.  107 

your  young  woman.  Buy  them  for  me  at 
some  shop.  They  left  me  enough  money  for 
that."  Low  gentry  put  aside  the  few  pieces 
of  gold  she  had  drawn  from  her  pocket,  and 
briefly  reminded  her  of  the  suspicion  such  a 
purchase  by  him  would  produce.  "  That 's 
so,"  she  said,  with  a  laugh.  ".Carambaf 
what  a  mule  I  'm  becoming !  Ah !  wait  a 
moment.  I  have  it !  Buy  me  a  common 
felt  hat  —  a  man's  hat  —  as  if  for  yourself, 
as  a  change  to  that  animal,"  pointing  to  the 
fox-tailed  cap  he  wore  summer  and  winter, 
"  and  I  '11  show  you  a  trick.  I  have  n't  run 
a  theatrical  wardrobe  for  nothing."  Nor 
had  she,  for  the  hat  thus  procured,  a  few 
days  later,  became,  by  the  aid  of  a  silk 
handkerchief  and  a  bluejay's  feather,  a  fas 
cinating  "  pork  pie." 

Whatever  cause  of  annoyance  to  Low  still 
lingered  in  Teresa's  dress,  it  was  soon  for 
gotten  in  a  palpable  evidence  of  Teresa's 
value  as  a  botanical  assistant.  It  appeared 
that  during  the  afternoon  she  had  not  only 


108  IN   THE  CARQU1NEZ    WOODS. 

duplicated  his  specimens,  but  had  discovered 
one  or  two  rare  plants  as  yet  unclassified  in 
the  flora  of  the  Carquiuez  Woods.  He  was 
delighted,  and  in  turn,  over  the  camp-lire, 
yielded  up  some  details  of  his  present  life 
and  some  of  his  earlier  recollections. 

44  You  don't  remember  anything  of  your 
father  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Did  he  ever  try  to 
seek  you  out  ?  " 

44  No  !  Why  should  he  ?  "  replied  the  im 
perturbable  Low ;  "  he  was  not  a  Cherokee." 

44  No,  he  was  a  beast,"  responded  Teresa 
promptly.  "  And  your  mother  —  do  you  re 
member  her  ?  " 

44  No,  I  think  she  died." 

44  You  tli  in  I'  she  died  ?     Don't  you  know  ?  " 

44  No!" 

44  Then  you  're  another  !  "  said  Teresa. 
Notwithstanding  this  frankness,  they  shook 
hands  for  the  night :  Teresa  nestling  like  a 
rabbit  in  a  hollow  by  the  side  of  the  camp- 
fire  ;  Low  with  his  feet  towards  it,  Indian- 
wise,  and  his  head  and  shoulders  pillowed 


JN  THE   CAR  a  ff  INEZ    WOODS.  109 

on  his  haversack,  only  half  distinguishable  in 
the  darkness  beyond. 

With  such  trivial  details  three  uneventful 
days  slipped  by.  Their  retreat  was  undis 
turbed,  nor  could  Low  detect,  by  the  least 
evidence  to  his  acute  perceptive  faculties, 
that  any  intruding  feet  had  since  crossed  the 
belt  of  shade.  The  echoes  of  passing  events 
at  Indian  Spring  had  recorded  the  escape  of 
Teresa  as  occurring  at  a  remote  and  purely 
imaginative  distance,  and  her  probable  direc 
tion  the  county  of  Yolo. 

"  Can  you  remember,"  he  one  day  asked 
her,  "  what  time  it  was  when  you  cut  the 
riata  and  got  away?" 

Teresa  pressed  her  hands  upon  her  eyes 
and  temples. 

"  About  three,  I  reckon." 

"  And  you  were  here  at  seven  ;  you  could 
have  covered  some  ground  in  four  hours  ?  " 

"Perhaps  —  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  her 
voice  taking  up  its  old  quality  again.  "  Don't 
ask  me  —  I  ran  all  the  way." 


110  IN  THE  CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS. 

Her  face  was  quite  pale  as  she  removed 
her  hands  from  her  eyes,  and  her  breath 
came  as  quickly  as  if  she  had  just  finished 
that  race  for  life. 

"  Then  you  think  I  am  safe  here  ? "  she 
added,  after  a  pause. 

"  Perfectly  —  until  they  find  you  are  not 
in  Yolo.  Then  they  '11  look  here.  And 
that 's  the  time  for  you  to  go  there."  Teresa 
smiled  timidly. 

"It  will  take  them  some  time  to  search 
Yolo  —  unless,"  she  added,  "  you  're  tired  of 
me  here."  The  charming  non  scquitur  did 
not,  however,  seem  to  strike  the  young  man. 
"I've  got  time  yet  to  find  a  few  more  plants 
for  you,"  she  suggested. 

"  Oh,  certainly !  " 

"And  give  you  a  few  more  lessons  in 
cooking." 

"  Perhaps." 

The  conscientious  and  literal  Low  was  Ite- 
ginning  to  doubt  if  she  were  really  practical. 
How  otherwise  could  she  trifle  with  such  a 
situation  ? 


IN  THE   CARQ.U1NEZ    WOODS.  Ill 

It  must  be  confessed  that  that  clay  and 
the  next  she  did  trifle  with  it.  She  gave 
herself  up  to  a  grave  and  delicious  languor 
that  seemed  to  flow  from  shadow  and  silence 
and  permeate  her  entire  being.  She  passed 
hours  in  a  thoughtful  repose  of  mind  and 
spirit  that  seemed  to  fall  like  balm  from 
those  steadfast  guardians,  and  distill  their 
gentle  ether  in  her  soul;  or  breathed  into 
her  listening  ear  immunity  from  the  forgot 
ten  past,  and  security  for  the  present.  If 
there  was  no  dream  of  the  future  in  this 
calm,  even  recurrence  of  placid  existence,  so 
much  the  better.  The  simple  details  of 
each  succeeding  day,  the  quaint  housekeep 
ing,  the  brief  companionship  and  coming 
and  going  of  her  young  host  —  himself  at 
best  a  crystallized  personification  of  the  se 
date  and  hospitable  woods  —  satisfied  her 
feeble  cravings.  She  no  longer  regretted 
the  inferior  position  that  her  fears  had 
obliged  her  to  take  the  first  night  she  came ; 
she  began  to  look  up  to  this  young  man  —  so 


112  IN  THE   CARdUIM-:/.    \VOODS. 

much  younger  than  herself  —  without  know 
ing  what  it  meant  ;  it  was  not  until  she 
f  jund  that  this  attitude  did  not  detract  from 
his  picturesqueness  that  she  discovered  her 
self  seeking  for  reasons  to  degrade  him  from 
this  seductive  eminence. 

A  week  had  elapsed  with  little  change. 
On  two  days  he  had  been  absent  all  day, 
returning  only  in  time  to  sup  in  the  hollow 
tree,  which,  thanks  to  the  final  removal  of 
the  dead  bear  from  its  vicinity,  was  now 
considered  a  safer  retreat  than  the  exposed 
camp-fire.  On  the  first  of  these  occasions 
she  received  him  with  some  preoccupation, 
paving  but  little  heed  to  the  si-ant  gossip  he 
brought  from  Indian  Spring,  and  retiring 
early  under  the  plea  of  fatigue,  that  he 
might  seek  his  o\vn  distant  cam})  lire,  which, 
thanks  to  her  stronger  nerves  and  re 
gained  courage,  she  no  longer  required  so 
near.  On  the  second  occasion,  lu»  found  her 
writing  a  letter  more  or  less  blotted  with  her 
tears.  When  it  was  finished,  she  begged 


IN   THE   CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS.  113 

him  to  post  it  at  Indian  Spring,  where  in 
two  days  an  answer  would  be  returned,  un 
der  cover,  to  him. 

"  I  hope  you  will  be  satisfied  then,"  she 
added. 

"  Satisfied  with  what  ?  "  queried  the  young 
man. 

"  You  '11  see,"  she  replied,  giving  him  her 
cold  hand.  "  Good-night." 

"  But  can't  you  tell  me  now  ?  "  he  remon 
strated,  retaining  her  hand. 

"  Wait  two  days  longer  — it  is  n't  much," 
was  all  she  vouchsafed  to  answer. 

The  two  days  passed.  Their  former  con 
fidence  and  good  fellowship  were  fully  re 
stored  when  the  morning  came  on  which  he 
was  to  bring  the  answer  from  the  post-of 
fice  at  Indian  Spring.  He  had  talked  again 
of  his  future,  and  had  recorded  his  ambition 
to  procure  the  appointment  of  naturalist  to 
a  Government  Surveying  Expedition.  She 
had  even  jocularly  proposed  to  dress  herself 
in  man's  attire  and  "  enlist "  as  his  assistant. 
8 


114  AV  THE  CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS. 

"  But  you  will  be  safe  with  your  friends, 
I  hope,  by  that  time,"  responded  Low. 

"  Safe  with  my  friends,"  she  repeated  in  a 
lower  voice.  "  Safe  with  my  friends  —  yes !  " 
An  awkward  silence  followed ;  Teresa  broke 
it  gayly:  "But  your  girl,  your  sweetheart, 
my  benefactor  —  will  she  let  you  go  ?  " 

"  I  have  n't  told  her  yet,"  said  Low,  grave 
ly,  "  but  I  don't  see  why  she  should  object." 

"  Object,  indeed  !  "  interrupted  Teresa  in 
a  high  voice  and  a  sudden  and  utterly  gra 
tuitous  indignation  ;  "  how  should  she  ?  I  'd 
like  to  see  her  do  it !  " 

She  accompanied  him  some  distance  to 
the  intersection  of  the  trail,  where  they 
parted  in  good  spirits.  On  the  dusty  plain 
without  a  gale  was  blowing  that  rocked  the 
high  tree-tops  above  her,  but,  tempered  and 
subdued,  entered  the  low  aisles  with  a  flut 
tering  breath  of  morning  and  a  sound  like 
the  cooing  of  doves.  Never  had  the  wood  be 
fore  shown  so  sweet  a  sense  of  security  from 
the  turmoil  and  tempest  of  the  world  be- 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  115 

yond  ;  never  before  had  an   intrusion  from 
the  outer  life  —  even  in  the  shape  of  a  letter 

—  seemed  so  wicked  a  desecration.    Tempted 
by  the  solicitation  of  air  and  shade,  she  lin 
gered,  with  Low's  herbarium  slung  on  her 
shoulder. 

A  strange  sensation,  like  a  shiver,  suddenly 
passed  across  her  nerves,  and  left  them  in 
a  state  of  rigid  tension.  With  every  sense 
morbidly  acute,  with  every  faculty  strained 
to  its  utmost,  the  subtle  instincts  of  Low's 
woodcraft  transformed  and  possessed  her. 
She  knew  it  now!  A  new  element  was  in 
the  wood  —  a  strange  being  —  another  life 

—  another  man  approaching !     She  did  not 
even  raise  her  head  to  look  about  her,  but 
darted  with  the  precision  and  fleetness  of  an 
arrow  in  the  direction  of  her  tree.     But  her 
feet  were  arrested,  her  limbs  paralyzed,  her 
very  existence  suspended,  by  the  sound  of  a 
voice  :  — 

"  Teresa ! " 

It  was  a  voice  that  had  rung  in  her  ears 


116  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

for  the  last  two  years  in  all  phases  of  inten 
sity,  passion,  tenderness,  and  anger  ;  a  voice 
upon  whose  modulations,  rude  and  unmusical 
though  they  were,  her  heart  and  soul  had 
hung  in  transport  or  anguish.  But  it  was  a 
chime  that  had  rung  its  last  peal  to  her 
senses  as  she  entered  the  Carquinez  Woods, 
and  for  the  last  week  had  been  as  dead  to 
her  as  a  voice  from  the  grave.  It  was  the 
voice  of  her  lover  —  Dick  Curson ! 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  wind  was  blowing  towards  the  stran 
ger,  so  that  he  was  nearly-  upon  her  when 
Teresa  first  took  the  alarm.  He  was  a  man 
over  six  feet  in  height,  strongly  built,  with 
a  slight  tendency  to  a  roundness  of  bulk 
which  suggested  reserved  rather  than  im 
peded  energy.  His  thick  beard  and  mus 
tache  were  closely  cropped  around  a  small 
and  handsome  mouth  that  lisped  except 
when  he  was  excited,  but  always  kept  fellow 
ship  with  his  blue  eyes  in  a  perpetual  smile 
of  half-cynical  good-humor.  His  dress  was 
superior  to  that  of  the  locality ;  his  general 
expression  that  of  a  man  of  the  world,  albeit 
a  world  of  San  Francisco,  Sacramento,  and 
Murderer's  Bar.  He  advanced  towards  her 
with  a  laugh  and  an  outstretched  hand. 

here  !  "  she  gasped,  drawing  back. 


118     IN  THE  CARQUJNEZ  WOODS. 

Apparently  neither  surprised  nor  morti 
fied  at  this  reception,  he  answered  frankly, 
"  Yeth.  You  did  n't  expect  me,  I  know. 
But  Doloreth  showed  me  the  letter  you 
wrote  her,  and  —  well  —  here  I  am,  ready 
to  help  you,  with  two  men  and  a  thpare 
horthe  waiting  outside  the  woodth  on  the 
blind  trail." 

4iYou  —  you — here?"  she  only  repeated. 

Curson  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  Yeth. 
Of  courth  you  never  expected  to  thee  me 
again,  and  leatht  of  all  here.  I  '11  admit 
that;  I'll  thay  I  would  n't  if  I'd  been  in 
your  plathe.  I  '11  go  further,  and  thay  you 
did  n't  want  to  thee  me  again  —  anywhere. 
But  it  all  cometh  to  the  thame  thing ;  here  I 
am.  I  read  the  letter  you  wrote  Doloreth. 
I  read  how  you  were  hiding  here,  under 
Dunn'th  very  nothe,  with  his  whole  pothe 
out,  cavorting  round  and  barkin'  up  the 
wrong  tree.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  eome 
down  here  with  a  few  nathty  friends  of  mine 
and  cut  you  out  under  Dunn'th  nothe,  and 
run  you  over  into  Yuba  —  that  *th  all." 


IN  THE- CARQU INEZ    WOODS.  119 

"  How  dared  she  show  you  my  letter  — 
you  of  all  men  ?  How  dared  she  ask  your 
help  ?  "  continued  Teresa,  fiercely. 

"  But  she  did  n't  athk  my  help,"  he  re 
sponded  coolly.  "  D d  if  I  don't  think 

she  jutht  calculated  I  'd  be  glad  to  know  you 
were  being  hunted  down  and  thtarving,  that 
I  might  put  Dunn  on  your  track." 

"  You  lie  !  "  said  Teresa,  furiously ;  "  she 
was  my  friend.  A  better  friend  than  those 
who  professed  —  more,"  she  added,  with  a 
contemptuous  drawing  away  of  her  skirt  as 
if  she  feared  Curson's  contamination. 

"  All  right.  Thettle  that  with  her  when 
you  go  back,"  continued  Curson  philosoph 
ically.  "We  can  talk  of  that  on  the  way. 
The  thing  now  ith  to  get  up  and  get  out  of 
thethe  woods.  Come !  " 

Teresa's  only  reply  was  a  gesture  of  scorn. 

"  I  know  all  that,"  continued  Curson  half 
soothingly,  "  but  they  're  waiting." 

"  Let  them  wait.     I  shall  not  go." 

"  What  will  you  do  ?  " 


120  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS. 

"  Stay  here  —  till  the  wolves  eat  me." 

"  Teresa,  listen.  D it  all  —  Teresa  — 

Tita!  see  here,"  he  said  with  sudden  energy. 
"  I  swear  to  God  it 's  all  right.  I  'in  willing 
to  let  by-gones  be  by-gones  and  take  a  new 
deal.  You  shall  come  back  as  if  nothing 
had  happened,  and  take  your  old  place  as 
before.  I  don't  mind  doing  the  square 
thing,  all  round.  If  that's  what  you  mean. 
if  that's  all  that  stands  in  the  way,  why, 
look  upon  the  thing  as  settled.  There,  Tita, 
old  girl,  come." 

Careless  or  oblivious  of  her  stony  silence 
and  starting  eyes,  he  attempted  to  take  her 
hand.  But  she  disengaged  herself  with  a 
quick  movement,  drew  back,  and  suddenly 
crouched  like  a  wild  animal  about  to  spring. 
Curson  folded  his  arms  as  she  leaped  to  her 
feet ;  the  little  dagger  she  had  drawn  from 
her  garter  flashed  menacingly  in  the  air,  but 
she  stopped. 

The  man  before  her  remained  erect,  im 
passive,  and  silent ;  the  great  trees  around 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  121 

and  beyond  her  remained  erect,  impassive, 
and  silent ;  there  was  no  sound  in  the  dim 
aisles  but  the  quick  panting  of  her  mad 
passion,  no  movement  in  the  calm,  motion 
less  shadow  but  the  trembling  of  her  up 
lifted  steel.  Her  arm  bent  and  slowly  sank, 
her  fingers  relaxed,  the  knife  fell  from  her 
hand. 

"  That  'th  quite  enough  for  a  thow,"  he 
said,  with  a  return  to  his  former  cynical  ease 
and  a  perceptible  tone  of  relief  in  his  voice. 
"  It  'th  the  thame  old  Theretha.  Well, 
then,  if  you  won't  go  with  me,  go  without 
me ;  take  the  led  horthe  and  cut  away. 
Dick  Athley  and  Petereth  will  follow  you 
over  the  county  line.  If  you  want  thome 
money,  there  it  ith."  He  took  a  buckskin 
purse  from  his  pocket.  "  If  you  won't  take 
it  from  me  "  —  he  hesitated  as  she  made 
no  reply  —  "  Athley  'th  flush  and  ready  to 
lend  you  thome." 

She  had  not  seemed  to  hear  him,  but  had 
stooped  in  some  embarrassment,  picked  up 


122          IN  THE   CARdUlXKZ    WOODS. 

the  knife  and  hastily  hid  it,  then  with  averted 
face  and  nervous  fingers  was  beginning  to 
tear  strips  of  loose  bark  from  the  nearest 
trunk. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  thay  ?  " 

"  I  don't  want  any  money,  and  I  shall 
stay  here."  She  hesitated,  looked  around 
her,  and  then  added,  with  an  effort,  '*  I  sup 
pose  you  meant  well.  Be  it  so !  Let  by 
gones  be  by-gones.  You  said  just  now,  *  It 's 
the  same  old  Teresa.'  So  she  is,  and  seeing 
she  's  the  same  she 's  better  here  than  any 
where  else." 

There  was  enough  bitterness  in  her  tone 
to  call  for  Curson's  half  -  perfunctory  sym 
pathy. 

"  That  be  d d,"  he  responded  quickly. 

"  Jutht  thay  you  '11  come,  Tita,  and  "  — 

She  stopped  his  half-spoken  sentence  \vitli 
a  negative  gesture.  "  You  don't  understand. 
I  shall  stay  here." 

"  But  even  if  they  don't  theek  you  here, 
you  can't  live  here  forever.  The  friend  that 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ  WOODS.  123 

you  wrote  about  who  watli  tho  good  to  you, 
you  know,  can't  keep  you  here  alwayth ;  and 
are  you  thure  you  can  alwayth  trutht  her  ?" 

"  It  is  n't  a  woman  ;  it 's  a  man."  She 
stopped  short,  and  colored  to  the  line  of  her 
forehead.  "  Who  said  it  was  a  woman  ?  " 
she  continued  fiercely,  as  if  to  cover  her  con 
fusion  with  a  burst  of  gratuitous  anger.  "  Is 
that  another  of  your  lies?  " 

Curson's  lips,  which  for  a  moment  had 
completely  lost  their  smile,  were  now  drawn 
together  in  a  prolonged  whistle.  He  gazed 
curiously  at  her  gown,  at  her  hat,  at  the  bow 
of  bright  ribbon  that  tied  her  black  hair,  and 
said,  "  Ah !  " 

"  A  poor  man  who  has  kept  my  secret," 
she  went  on  hurriedly  —  "a  man  as  friend 
less  and  lonely  as  myself.  Yes,"  disregard 
ing  Curson's  cynical  smile,  "  a  man  who  has 
shared  everything  " — 

"  Naturally,"  suggested  Curson. 

"  And  turned  himself  out  of  his  only  shel 
ter  to  give  me  a  roof  and  covering,"  she  con- 


124  I2f  THE  CARQU1NEZ  WOODS. 

tinued  mechanically,  struggling  with  the  new 
and  horrible  fancy  that  his  words  awakem-d. 

"And  thlept  every  night  at  Indian 
Thpring  to  save  your  reputation,"  said  C 'ar 
son.  "  Of  court-he." 

Teresa  turned  very  white.  Curson  was 
prepared  for  an  outburst  of  fury — perhaps 
even  another  attack.  But  the  crushed  and 
beaten  woman  only  gazed  at  him  with  fright 
ened  and  imploring  eyes.  "  For  God's  sake, 
Dick,  don't  say  that !  " 

The  amiable  cynic  was  staggered.  His 
good-humor  and  a  certain  chivalrous  instinct 
he  could  not  repress  got  the  better  of  him. 
He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  What  I  thay, 
and  what  you  Jo,  Teretha,  need  n't  make  us 
quarrel.  I  Ve  no  claim  on  you  —  I  know  it. 
Only"  —  a  vivid  sense  of  the  ridiculous, 
powerful  in  men  of  his  stamp,  completed  her 
victory  —  "only  don't  thay  anything  about 
my  coming  down  here  to  cut  you  out  from 
the  —  the  —  the  sheriff"  He  gave  utterance 
to  a  short  but  unaffected  laugh,  made  a  slight 
grimace,  and  turned  to  go. 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  125 

Teresa  did  not  join  in  his  mirth.  Awk 
ward  as  it  would  have  been  if  he  had  taken 
a  severer  view  of  the  subject,  she  was  morti 
fied  even  amidst  her  fears  and  embarrassment 
at  his  levity.  Just  as  she  had  become  con 
vinced  that  his  jealousy  had  made  her  over- 
conscious,  his  apparent  good-humored  indif 
ference  gave  that  over-consciousness  a  guilty 
significance.  Yet  this  was  lost  in  her  sudden 
alarm  as  her  companion,  looking  up,  uttered 
an  exclamation,  and  placed  his  hand  upon 
his  revolver  With  a  sinking  conviction  that 
the  climax  had  come,  Teresa  turned  her  eyes. 
From  the  dim  aisles  beyond,  Low  was  ap 
proaching.  The  catastrophe  seemed  com 
plete. 

She  had  barely  time  to  utter  an  imploring 
whisper :  "  In  the  name  of  God,  not  a  word 
to  him."  But  a  change  had  already  come 
over  her  companion.  It  was  no  longer  a 
parley  with  a  foolish  woman ;  he  had  to  deal 
with  a  man  like  himself.  As  Low's  dark 
face  and  picturesque  figure  caine  nearer,  Mr. 


126  IN  TEE  CARQUIXKZ  WOODS. 

Curson's  proposed  method  of  dealing  with 
him  was  made  audible. 

"  Ith  it  a  mulatto  or  a  Thircuth,  or  both  ?" 
he  asked,  with  affected  anxiety. 

Low's  Indian  phlegm  was  impervious  to 
such  assault.  He  turned  to  Teresa,  with 
out  apparently  noticing  her  companion.  "  I 
turned  back,"  he  said  quietly,  "  as  soon  as 
I  knew  there  were  strangers  here;  I  thought 
you  might  need  me."  She  noticed  for  the 
first  time  that,  in  addition  to  his  rifle,  he 
carried  a  revolver  and  hunting-knife  in  his 
belt. 

"  Yeth,"  returned  Curson,  with  an  ineffec 
tual  attempt  to  imitate  Low's  phlegm  ;  "  but 
ath  I  did  n't  happen  to  be  a  sthranger  to 
thith  lady,  perhaps  it  wathn't  nethethary, 
particularly  ath  I  had  two  friends" 

"  Waiting  at  the  edge  of  the  wood  with  a 
led  horse,"  interrupted  Low,  without  address- 
big  him,  but  apparently  continuing  his  ex 
planation  to  Teresa.  But  she  turned  to  Low 
with  feverish  anxiety. 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS.  127 

"  That 's  so  —  he  is  an  old  friend  "  —  she 
gave  a  quick,  imploring  glance  at  Curson  — 
"  an  old  friend  who  came  to  help  me  away  — 
he  is  very  kind,"  she  stammered,  turning  al 
ternately  from  the  one  to  the  other ;  u  but  I 
told  him  there  was  no  hurry  —  at  least  to 
day  — _that  you  —  were  —  very  good  —  too, 
and  would  hide  me  a  little  longer,  until  your 
plan  —  you  know  your  plan,"  she  added,  with 
a  look  of  beseeching  significance  to  Low  — 
"could  be  tried."  And  then,  with  a  helpless 
conviction  that  her  excuses,  motives,  and  emo 
tions  were  equally  and  perfectly  transparent 
to  both  men,  she  stopped  in  a  tremble. 

"  Perhapth  it  'th  jutht  ath  well,  then,  that 
the  gentleman  came  thraight  here,  and  did 
n't  tackle  my  two  friendth  when  he  pathed 
them,"  observed  Curson,  half  sarcastically. 

"  I  have  not  passed  your  friends,  nor  have 
I  been  near  them,"  said  Low,  looking  at  him 
for  the  first  time,  with  the  same  exasperating 
calm,  "  or  perhaps  I  should  not  be  here  or 
they  there.  I  knew  that  one  man  entered 


128  IN  THE  CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS. 

the  wood  a  few  moments  ago,  and  that  two 
men  and  four  horses  remained  outside." 

"  That 's  true,"  said  Teresa  to  Curson  ex 
citedly  —  "  that 's  true.  He  knows  all.  He 
can  see  without  looking,  hear  without  listen 
ing.  He  —  he"  -  she  stammered,  colored, 
and  stopped. 

The  two  men  had  faced  each  other.  Cur- 
son,  after  his  first  good-natured  impulse,  had 
retained  no  wish  to  regain  Teresa,  whom  he 
felt  he  no  longer  loved,  and  yet  who,  for  that 
very  reason  perhaps,  had  awakened  his  chiv 
alrous  instincts.  Low,  equally  on  his  side, 
was  altogether  unconscious  of  any  feeling 
which  might  grow  into  a  passion,  and  pre 
vent  him  from  letting  her  go  with  another  if 
for  her  own  safety.  They  were  both  men  of 
a  certain  taste  and  refinement.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  all  this,  some  vague  instinct  of  the  liasrr 
male  animal  remained  with  them,  and  they 
were  moved  to  a  mutually  aggressive  attitude 
in  the  presence  of  the  female. 

One  word  more,  and  the  opening  chapter 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  129 

of  a  sylvan  Iliad  might  have  begun.  But 
this  modern  Helen  saw  it  coming,  and  ar 
rested  it  with  an  inspiration  of  feminine 
genius.  Without  being  observed,  she  dis 
engaged  her  knife  from  her  bosom  and  let  it 
fall  as  if  by  accident.  It  struck  the  ground 
with  the  point  of  its  keen  blade,  bounded 
and  rolled  between  them.  The  two  men 
started  and  looked  at  each  other  with  a  fool 
ish  air.  Curson  laughed. 

"  I  reckon  she  can  take  care  of  herthelf," 
he  said,  extending  his  hand  to  Low.  ?  I  'm 
off.  But  if  I  'm  wanted  she  'II  know  where 
to  find  me."  Low  took  the  proffered  hand, 
but  neither  of  the  two  men  looked  at  Teresa. 
The  reserve  of  antagonism  once  broken,  a 
few  words  of  caution,  advice,  and  encourage 
ment  passed  between  them,  in  apparent  ob- 
liviousness  of  her  presence  or  her  personal 
responsibility.  As  Curson  at  last  nodded  a 
farewell  to  her,  Low  insisted  upon  accompa 
nying  him  as  far  as  the  horses,  and  in  an 
other  moment  she  was  again  alone. 


130  JN  TUE  CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

She  had  saved  a  quarrel  between  them  at 
the  sacrifice  of  herself,  for  her  vanity  was 
still  keen  enough  to  feel  that  this  exhibi 
tion  of  her  old  weakness  had  detruded  her 

O 

in  their  eyes,  and,  worse,  had  lost  the  re 
spect  her  late  restraint  had  won  from  Low. 
They  had  treated  her  like  a  child  or  a  cra/y 
woman,  perhaps  even  now  were  exchanging 
criticisms  upon  her  —  perhaps  pitying  her ! 
Yet  she  had  prevented  a  quarrel,  a  fight; 
possibly  the  death  of  either  one  or  the  other 
of  these  men  who  despised  her,  for  none 
better  knew  than  she  the  trivial  beinmiiiic1 

O  O 

and  desperate  end  of  these  encounters. 
AVonld  they  —  would  Low  ever  realize  it, 
and  forgive  her?  Her  small,  dark  hands 
went  up  to  her  eyes  and  she  sank  upon  the 
ground.  She  looked  through  tear- veiled 
lashes  upon  the  mute  and  gi:int  \vitnesses 
of  her  deceit  and  ]>a><ion.  and  tried  to  draw, 
from  their  immovable  calm,  strength  and 
consolation  as  before.  But  even  they  seemed 
to  stand  apart,  reserved  and  forbidding. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.     131 

When  Low  returned  she  hoped  to  gather 
from  his  eyes  and  manner  what  had  passed 
between  him  and  her  former  lover.  But 
beyond  a  mere  gentle  abstraction  at  times  he 
retained  his  usual  calm.  She  was  at  last 
forced  to  allude  to  it  herself  with  simulated 
recklessness. 

"  I  suppose  I  did  n't  get  a  very  good  char 
acter  from  my  last  place  ?  "  she  said,  with  a 
laugh. 

"  I  don't  understand  you,"  he  replied,  in 
evident  sincerity. 

She  bit  her  lip  and  was  silent.  But  as 
they  were  returning  home,  she  said  gently, 
"  I  hope  you  were  not  angry  with  me  for  the 
lie  I  told  when  I  spoke  of  '  your  plan.'  I 
could  not  give  the  real  reason  for  not  re 
turning  with  —  with  —  that  man.  But  it 's 
not  all  a  lie.  I  have  a  plan  —  if  you  have  n't. 
When  you  are  ready  to  go  to  Sacramento  to 
take  your  place,  dress  me  as  an  Indian  boy, 
paint  my  face,  and  let  me  go  with  you.  You 
can  leave  me  —  there  —  you  know." 


132  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

"  It 's  not  a  bad  idea,"  he  responded 
gravely.  "We  will  see." 

On  the  next  day,  and  the  next,  the  ren 
contre  seemed  to  be  forgotten.  The  herba 
rium  was  already  filled  with  rare  specimens. 
Teresa  had  even  overcome  her  feminine  re 
pugnance  to  "  bugs  "  and  creeping  things  so 
far  as  to  assist  in  his  entomological  collection. 
He  had  drawn  from  a  sacred  ctiche  in  the 
hollow  of  a  tree  the  few  worn  text-books 
from  which  he  had  studied. 

u  They  seem  very  precious,"  she  said,  with 
a  smile. 

"  Very,"  he  replied  gravely.  "  There  was 
one  with  plates  that  the  ants  ate  up,  and  it 
will  be  six  months  before  I  can  afford  to  buy 
(mother." 

Teresa  glanced  hurriedly  over  his  well- 
worn  buckskin  suit,  at  his  calico  shirt  with 
its  pattern  almost  obliterated  by  countless 
Washings,  and  became  thoughtful. 

"  I  suppose  you  could  n't  buy  one  at  In 
dian  Spring?"  she  said  innocently. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS.          133 

For  once  Low  was  startled  out  of  his 
phlegm.  "  Indian  Spring  !  "  he  ejaculated  ; 
"  perhaps  not  even  in  San  Francisco.  These 
came  from  the  States." 

"  How  did  you  get  them  ?  "  persisted  Te 
resa. 

"  I  bought  them  for  skins  I  got  over  the 
ridge." 

"I  didn't  mean  that  —  but  no  matter. 
Then  you  mean  to  sell  that  bearskin,  don't 
you  ?  "  she  added. 

Low  had,  in  fact,  already  sold  it,  the  pro 
ceeds  having  been  invested  in  a  gold  ring  for 
Miss  Nellie,  which  she  scrupulously  did  not 
wear  except  in  his  presence.  In  his  singu 
lar  truthfulness  he  would  have  frankly  con 
fessed  it  to  Teresa,  but  the  secret  was  not 
his  own.  He  contented  himself  with  saying 
that  he  had  disposed  of  it  at  Indian  Spring. 
Teresa  started,  and  communicated  uncon 
sciously  some  of  her  nervousness  to  her  com 
panion.  They  gazed  in  each  other's  eyes 
with  a  troubled  expression. 


134          IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

"  Do  you  think  it  was  wise  to  sell  that 
particular  skin,  which  might  be  identified?  " 
she  asked  timidly. 

Low  knitted  his  arched  brows,  but  felt  a 
strange  sense  of  relief.  "  Perhaps  not,"  he 
said  carelessly ;  "  but  it  's  too  late  now  to 
mend  matters." 

That  afternoon  she  wrote  several  letters, 
and  tore  them  up.  One,  however,  she  re 
tained,  and  handed  it  to  Low  to  post  at  In 
dian  Spring,  whither  he  was  going.  She 
called  his  attention  to  the  superscription 
being  the  same  as  the  previous  letter,  and 
added,  with  affected  gayetv.  -But  if  the  an 
swer  is  n't  as  prompt,  perhaps  it  will  be  pleas- 
anter  than  the  last."  Her  quick  feminine 
eye  noticed  a  little  excitement  in  his  manner 
and  a  more  studious  attention  to  his  dn». 
Only  a  few  days  before  she  would  not  have 
allowed  this  to  pass  without  some  mischiev 
ous  allusion  to  his  mysterious  sweetheart  ;  it 
troubled  her  greatly  now  to  iind  that  she 
could  not  bring  herself  to  this  household 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ  WOODS.  135 

pleasantry,  and  that  her  lip  trembled  and 
her  eye  grew  moist  as  he  parted  from  her. 

The  afternoon  passed  slowly  ;  he  had  said 
he  might  not  return  to  supper  until  late, 
nevertheless  a  strange  restlessness  took  pos 
session  of  her  as  the  day  wore  on.  She  put 
aside  her  work,  the  darning  of  his  stockings, 
and  rambled  aimlessly  through  the  woods. 
She  had  wandered  she  knew  not  how  far, 
when  she  was  suddenly  seized  with  the  same 
vague  sense  of  a  foreign  presence  which  she 
had  felt  before.  Could  it  be  Curson  again, 
with  a  word  of  warning  ?  No  !  she  knew 
it  was  not  he ;  so  subtle  had  her  sense  be 
come  that  she  even  fancied  that  she  detected 
in  the  invisible  aura  projected  by  the  un 
known  no  significance  or  relation  to  herself 
or  Low,  and  felt  no  fear.  Nevertheless  she 
deemed  it  wisest  to  seek  the  protection  of  her 
sylvan  bower,  and  hurried  swiftly  thither. 

But  not  so  quickly  nor  directly  that  she 
did  not  once  or  twice  pause  in  her  flight 
to  examine  the  new-comer  from  behind  a 


136  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS. 

friendly  trunk.  lie  was  a  stranger  —  a 
young  fellow  with  a  brown  mustache,  wear 
ing  heavy  Mexican  spurs  in  his  riding-Loots. 
whose  tinkling  he  apparently  did  not  care  to 
conceal.  He  had  perceived  her,  and  was 
evidently  pursuing  her,  but  so  awkwardly 
and  timidly  that  she  eluded  him  with  ease. 
When  she  had  reached  the  security  of  the 
hollow  tree  and  pulled  the  cuvtuin  of  bark 
before  the  narrow  opening,  with  her  eye  to 
the  interstices,  she  waited  his  coming.  He 
arrived  breathlessly  in  the  open  space  before 
the  tree  where  the  bear  once  lay;  the  da/ed, 
bewildered,  and  half-awed  expression  of  his 
face,  as  he  glanced  around  him  and  through 
the  openings  of  the  forest  aisles,  brought  a 
faint  smile  to  her  saddened  face.  At  last 
he  called  in  a  half-embarrassed  voice :  — 

"  Miss  Nellie  !  " 

The  smile  faded  from  Teresa's  cheek.  Who 
was  '-Miss  Nellie"?  She  pressed  her  ear 
to  the  opening.  "Miss  Wynn  !  '  the  voice 
again  called,  but  was  lost  in  the  echoless 


/AT  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  137 

woods.  Devoured  with  a  new  and  gratui 
tous  curiosity,  in  another  moment  Teresa  felt 
she  would  have  disclosed  herself  at  any  risk, 
but  the  stranger  rose  and  began  to  retrace  his 
steps.  Long  after  his  tinkling  spurs  were 
lost  in  the  distance,  Teresa  remained  like  a 
statue,  staring  at  the  place  where  he  had 
stood.  Then  she  suddenly  turned  like  a 
mad  woman,  glanced  down  at  the  gown  she 
was  wearing,  tore  it  from  her  back  as  if  it 
had  been  a  polluted  garment,  and  stamped 
upon  it  in  a  convulsion  of  rage.  And  then, 
with  her  beautiful  bare  arms  clasped  to 
gether  over  her  head,  she  threw  herself 
upon  her  couch  in  a  tempest  of  tears. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WHEN  Miss  Nellie  reached  the  first  min 
ing  extension  of  Indian  Spring,  which  sin- 
rounded  it  like  a  fosse,  she  descended  for 
one  instant  into  one  of  its  trenches,  opened 
her  parasol,  removed  her  duster,  hid  it  under 
a  bowlder,  and  with  a  few  shivers  and  cat 
like  strokes  of  her  soft  hands  not  only  ob 
literated  all  material  traces  of  the  stolen 
cream  of  Carquinez  Woods,  but  assumed  a 
feline  demureness  quite  inconsistent  with 
any  moral  dereliction.  Unfortunately,  she 
forgot  to  remove  at  the  same  time  a  certain 
ring  from  her  third  finger,  which  she  had  put 
on  with  her  duster  and  had  worn  at  no  other 
time.  With  this  slight  exception,  the  be 
nignant  fate  which  always  protected  that 
young  person  brought  her  in  contact  with 
the  Burnham  girls  at  one  end  of  the  main 


7^  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  139 

street  as  the  returning  coach  to  Excelsior 
entered  the  other,  and  enabled  her  to  take 
leave  of  them  before  the  coach  office  with  a 
certain  ostentation  of  parting  which  struck 
Mr.  Jack  Brace,  who  was  lingering  at  the 
doorway,  into  a  state  of  utter  bewilderment. 

Here  was  Miss  Nellie  Wynn,  the  belle 
of  Excelsior,  calm,  quiet,  self-possessed,  her 
chaste  cambric  skirts  and  dainty  shoes  as 
fresh  as  when  she  had  left  her  father's 
house ;  but  where  was  the  woman  of  the 
brown  duster,  and  where  the  yellow-dressed 
apparition  of  the  woods  ?  He  was  feebly  re 
peating  to  himself  his  mental  adjuration  of 
a  few  hours  before  when  he  caught  her  eye, 
and  was  taken  with  a  blush  and  a  fit  of 
coughing.  Could  he  have  been  such  an 
egregious  fool,  and  was  it  not  plainly  writ 
ten  on  his  embarrassed  face  for  her  to  read? 

"Are  we  going  down  together?"  asked  Miss 
Nellie,  with  an  exceptionally  gracious  smile. 

There  was  neither  affectation  nor  coquetry 
in  this  advance.  The  girl  had  no  idea  of 


140  IN  THE  CARQ.U1XEZ  WOODS. 

Brace's  suspicion  of  her,  nor  did  any  uneasy 
desire  to  placate  or  deceive  a  possible  rival 
of  Low's  prompt  her  graciousness.  She  sim 
ply  wished  to  shake  oft'  in  this  encounter 
the  already  stale  excitement  of  the  past  two 
hours,  as  she  had  shaken  the  dust  of  the 
woods  from  her  clothes.  It  was  characteris 
tic  of  her  irresponsible  nature  and  transient 
susceptibilities  that  she  actually  enjoyed  the 
relief  of  change ;  more  than  that,  I  fear,  she 
looked  upon  this  infidelity  to  a  past  dubious 
pleasure  as  a  moral  principle.  A  mild,  opm 
flirtation  with  a  recognized  man  like  Brace, 
after  her  secret  passionate  tryst  with  a  name 
less  nomad  like  Low,  was  an  ethical  equipoise 
that  seemed  proper  to  one  of  her  religious 
education. 

Brace  was  only  too  happy  to  profit  by 
Miss  Nellie's  condescension:  he  at  once  s» •- 
cured  the  seat  by  her  side,  and  spent  the 
four  hours  and  a  half  of  their  return  journey 
to  Excelsior  in  blissful  but  timid  communion 
with  her.  If  he  did  not  dare  to  confess  his 


IN  THE   CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS.  141 

past  suspicions,  lie  was  equally  afraid  to  ven 
ture  upon  the  boldness  lie  had  premeditated 
a  few  hours  before.  He  was  therefore  obliged 
to  take  a  middle  course  of  slightly  egotistical 
narration  of  his  own  personal  adventures, 
with  which  he  beguiled  the  young  girl's  ear. 
This  he  only  departed  from  once,  to  describe 
to  her  a  valuable  grizzly  bearskin  which  he 
had  seen  that  day  for  sale  at  Indian  Spring, 
with  a  view  to  divining  her  possible  accept 
ance  of  it  for  a  "  buggy  robe ;  "  and  once  to 
comment  upon  a  ring  which  she  had  inadver 
tently  disclosed  in  pulling  off  her  glove. 

"  It 's  only  an  old  family  keepsake,"  she 
added,  with  easy  mendacity ;  and  affecting 
to  recognize  in  Mr.  Brace's  curiosity  a  not 
unnatural  excuse  for  toying  with  her  charm 
ing  fingers,  she  hid  them  in  chaste  and  vir 
ginal  seclusion  in  her  lap,  until  she  could 
recover  the  ring  and  resume  her  glove. 

A  week  passed  —  a  week  of  peculiar  and 
desiccating  heat  for  even  those  dry  Sierra 
table-lands.  The  long  days  were  filled  with 


142          IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

impalpable  dust  and  acrid  haze  suspended  MI 
the  motionless  air;  the  nights  were  breath 
less  and  dewless;  the  cold  wind  which  usu 
ally  swept  clown  from  the  snow  line  was  laid 
to  sleep  over  a  dark  monotonous  level,  whose 
horizon  was  pricked  with  the  eating  fires  of 
burning  forest  crests.  The  lagging  coach 
of  Indian  Spring  drove  up  at  Excelsior,  and 
precipitated  its  passengers  with  an  accom 
panying  cloud  of  dust  before  the  Excelsior 
Hotel.  As  they  emerged  from  the  coach, 
Mr.  Brace,  standing  in  the  doorway,  closely 
scanned  their  begrimed  and  almost  unrecog- 
ni/able  faces.  They  were  the  usual  type  of 
travelers:  a  single  professional  man  in  dusty 
black,  a  few  traders  in  tweeds  and  flannels, 
a  sprinkling  of  miners  in  rrd  and  gray  shirts, 
a  Chinaman,  a  negro,  and  a  Mexican  packer 
or  muleteer.  This  latter  for  a  moment  min 
gled  with  the  crowd  in  the  bar-room,  and 
even  penetrated  the  corridor  and  dining-room 
of  the  hotel,  as  if  impelled  by  a  certain  semi- 
civilized  curiosity,  and  then  strolled  with  a 


IN  THE   CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS.  143 

lazy,  dragging  step  —  half  impeded  by  the 
enormous  leather  leggings,  chains,  and  spurs, 
peculiar  to  his  class  —  down  the  main  street. 
The  darkness  was  gathering,  but  the  mule* 
teer  indulged  in  the  same  childish  scrutiny 
of  the  dimly  lighted  shops,  magazines,  and 
saloons,  and  even  of  the  occasional  groups  of 
citizens  at  the  street  corners.  Apparently 
young,  as  far  as  the  outlines  of  his  figure 
could  be  seen,  he  seemed  to  show  even  more 
than  the  usual  concern  of  masculine  Excel 
sior  in  the  charms  of  womankind.  The  few 
female  figures  about  at  that  hour,  or  visible 
at  window  or  veranda,  received  his  marked 
attention;  he  respectfully  followed  the  two 
auburn-haired  daughters  of  Deacon  Johnson 
on  their  way  to  choir  meeting  to  the  door  of 
the  church/  Not  content  with  that  act  of 
discreet  gallantry,  after  they  had  entered  he 
managed  to  slip  in  unperceived  behind  them. 
The  memorial  of  the  Excelsior  gamblers' 
generosity  was  a  modern  building,  large  and 
pretentious,  for  even  Mr.  Wynn's  popular- 


144  IN  THE  CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS. 

ity,  and  had  been  good-humoredly  known, 
in  the  characteristic  language  of  the  gener 
ous  donors,  as  one  of  the  "  biggest  relig 
ious  bluffs  "  on  record.  Its  groined  rafters, 
which  were  so  new  and  spicy  that  they  still 
suggested  their  native  forest  aisles,  seldom 
covered  more  than  a  hundred  devotees,  and 
in  the  rambling  choir,  with  its  bare  space  for 
the  future  organ,  the  few  choristers,  gathered 
round  a  small  harmonium,  were  lost  in  the 
deepening  shadow  of  that  summer  evening. 
The  muleteer  remained  hidden  in  the  obscu 
rity  of  the  vestibule.  After  a  few  moments' 
desultory  conversation,  in  which  it  appeared 
that  the  unexpected  absence  of  Miss  Nellie 
Wynn,  their  leader,  would  prevent  their 
practicing,  the  choristers  withdrew.  The 
stranger,  who  had  listened  eagerly,  drew  back 
in  the  darkness  as  they  passed  out,  and  re 
mained  for  a  few  moments  a  vague  and  mo 
tionless  figure  in  the  silent  church.  Then 
coming  cautiously  to  the  window,  the  flap 
ping  broad-brimmed  hat  was  put  aside,  and 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  145 

the  faint  light  of  the  dying  day  shone  in  the 
black  eyes  of  Teresa !  Despite  her  face, 
darkened  with  dye  and  disfigured  with  dust, 
the  matted  hair  piled  and  twisted  around  her 
head,  the  strange  dress  and  boyish  figure,  one 
swift  glance  from  under  her  raised  lashes 
betrayed  her  identity. 

She  turned  aside  mechanically  into  the 
first  pew,  picked  up  and  opened  a  hymn- 
book.  Her  eyes  became  riveted  on  a  name 
written  on  the  title-page,  u Nellie  Wynn." 
Her  name,  and  her  book.  The  instinct  that 
had  guided  her  here  was  right;  the  slight 
gossip  of  her  fellow-passengers  was  right; 
this  was  the  clergyman's  daughter,  whose 
praise  filled  all  mouths.  This  was  the  un 
known  girl  the  stranger  was  seeking,  but  who 
in  her  turn  perhaps  had  been  seeking  Low 
—  the  girl  who  absorbed  his  fancy  —  the  se 
cret  of  his  absences,  his  preoccupation,  his 
coldness !  This  was  the  girl  whom  to  see, 
perhaps  in  his  arms,  she  was  now  periling 
her  liberty  and  her  life  unknown  to  him !  A 
10 


140         IN  Tin-:  c-i/w/.v/:/  WOODS. 

slight  odor,  some  faint  perfume  of  its  owner, 
came  from  the  book ;  it  was  the  same  she 
hud  noticed  in  the  dress  Low  had  given  her. 
She  flung*  the  volume  to  the  ground,  and, 
throwing  her  arms  over  the  back  of  the  pew 
before  her,  buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 

In  that  light  and  attitude  she  might  have 
seemed  some  rapt  acolyte  abandoned  to  self- 
communion.  But  whatever  yearning  her 
soul  might  have  had  for  higher  sympathy 
or  deeper  consolation,  I  fear  that  the  spirit 
ual  Tabernacle  of  Excelsior  and  the  Rever 
end  Mr.  Wynn  did  not  meet  that  require 
ment.  She  only  felt  the  dry,  oven-like  heat 
of  that  vast  shell,  empty  of  sentiment  and 
beauty,  hollow  in  its  pretense  and  dreary  in 
its  desolation.  She  only  saw  in  it  a  chief 
altar  for  the  glorification  of  this  girl  \vlio 
had  absorbed  even  the  pure  worship  of  her 
companion,  and  converted  and  degraded  his 
sublime  paganism  to  her  petty  creed.  \Vith 
a  woman's  withering  contempt  for  her  own 
art  displayed  in  another  woman,  she  thought 


7^  THE   CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS.  147 

how  she  herself  could  have  touched  him  with 
the  peace  that  the  majesty  of  their  woodland 
aisles  —  so  unlike  this  pillared  sham  —  had 
taught  her  own  passionate  heart,  had  she  but 
dared.  Mingling  with  this  imperfect  the 
ology,  she  felt  she  could  have  proved  to  him 
also  that  a  brunette  and  a  woman  of  her 
experience  was  better  than  an  immature 
blonde.  She  began  to  loathe  herself  for 
coming  hither,  and  dreaded  to  meet  his  face. 
Here  a  sudden  thought  struck  her.  What 
if  he  had  not  come  here  ?  What  if  she  had 
been  mistaken?  What  if  her  rash  interpre 
tation  of  his  absence  from  the  wood  that 
night  was  simple  madness?  What  if  he 
should  return  —  if  he  had  already  returned  ? 
She  rose  to  her  feet,  whitening,  yet  joyful 
with  the  thought.  She  would  return  at  once ; 
what  was  the  girl  to  her  now  ?  Yet  there 
was  time  to  satisfy  herself  if  he  were  at  her 
house.  She  had  been  told  where  it  was ; 
she  could  find  it  in  the  dark ;  an  open  door 
or  window  would  betray  some  sign  or  sound 


148  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

of  the  occupants.  She  rose,  replaced  her  hat 
over  her  eyes,  knotted  her  flaunting  scarf 
around  her  throat,  groped  her  way  to  the 
door,  and  glided  into  the  outer  darkness. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

IT  was  quite  dark  when  Mr.  Jack  Brace 
stopped  before  Father  Wynn's  open  door. 
The  windows  were  also  invitingly  open  to 
the  wayfarer,  as  were  the  pastoral  counsels 
of  Father  Wynn,  delivered  to  some  favored 
guest  within,  in  a  tone  of  voice  loud  enough 
for  a  pulpit.  Jack  Brace  paused.  The 
visitor  was  the  convalescent  sheriff,  Jim 
Dunn,  who  had  publicly  commemorated  his 
recovery  by  making  his  first  call  upon  the 
father  of  his  inamorata.  The  Reverend  Mr. 
Wynn  had  been  expatiating  upon  the  un 
remitting  heat  as  a  possible  precursor  of 
forest  fires,  and  exhibiting  some  catholic 
knowledge  of  the  designs  of  a  Deity  in  that 
regard,  and  what  should  be  the  policy  of  the 
Legislature,  when  Mr.  Brace  concluded  to 
enter.  Mr.  Wynn  and  the  wounded  man, 


150  IN  THE   CARQ.U1NEZ  WOODS. 

who  occupied  an  arm-chair  by  the  window, 
were  the  only  occupants  of  the  room.  But 
in  spite  of  the  former's  ostentatious  greeting, 
Brace  could  see  that  his  visit  was  inoppor 
tune  and  unwelcome.  The  sheriff  nodded 
a  quick,  impatient  recognition,  which,  hud 
it  not  been  accompanied  by  an  anathema 
on  the  heat,  might  have  been  taken  as  a 
personal  insult.  Neither  spoke  of  Miss  Nel 
lie,  although  it  was  patent  to  Brace  that  they 
were  momentarily  expecting  her.  All  of 
which  went  far  to  strengthen  a  certain  wa 
vering  purpose  in  his  mind. 

"  Ah,  ha !  strong  language,  Mr.  Dunn," 
said  Father  Wynn,  referring  to  the  sheriff's 
adjuration,  "  but  4  out  of  the  fullness  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh.'  Job,  sir,  cursed, 
we  are  told,  and  even  expressed  himself  in 
vigorous  Hebrew  regarding  his  birthday. 
Ha,  ha!  I  'm  not  opposed  to  that.  When  I 
have  often  wrestled  with  the  spirit  I  confess 

I  have  sometimes  said,  '  D n  you.'     Yes, 

sir,  4D nyou.'" 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  151 

There  was  something  so  unutterably  vile 
in  the  reverend  gentleman's  utterance  and 
emphasis  of  this  oath  that  the  two  men,  al 
beit  both  easy  and  facile  blasphemers,  felt 
shocked ;  as  the  purest  of  actresses  is  apt  to 
overdo  the  rakishness  of  a  gay  Lothario, 
Father  Wynnes  immaculate  conception  of  an 
imprecation  was  something  terrible.  But  he 
added,  "  The  law  ought  to  interfere  with  the 
reckless  use  of  camp-fires  in  the  woods  in 
such  weather  by  packers  and  prospecters." 

"  It  is  n't  so  much  the  work  of  white  men," 
broke  in  Brace,  "  as  it  is  of  Greasers,  Chi 
namen,  and  Diggers,  especially  Diggers. 
There 's  that  blasted  Low,  ranges  the  whole 
Carquinez  Woods  as  if  they  were  his.  I 
reckon  he  ain't  particular  just  where  he 
throws  his  matches." 

"  But  he 's  not  a  Digger ;  he 's  a  Cherokee, 
and  only  a  half-breed  at  that,"  interpolated 
Wynn.  "  Unless,"  he  added,  with  the  art 
ful  suggestion  of  the  betrayed  trust  of  a  too 
credulous  Christian,  "  he  deceived  me  in  this 
as  in  other  things." 


152  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

In  what  other  things  Low  had  doeeived 
him  he  did  not  say;  but,  to  the  astonish 
ment  of  both  men,  Dunn  growled  a  dissent  to 
Brace's  proposition.  Either  from  some  se 
cret  irritation  with  that  possible  rival,  or  im 
patience  at  the  prolonged  absence  of  Nellie, 
he  had  uhad  enough  of  that  sort  of  hog-wash 
ladled  out  to  him  for  genuine  liquor."  As 
to  the  Carquinez  Woods,  he  [Dunn]  "  did  n't 
know  why  Low  had  n't  as  much  right  there 
as  if  he  'd  grabbed  it  under  a  preemption 
law  and  did  n't  live  there."  AVith  this  hint 
at  certain  speculations  of  Father  AVynn  in 
public  lands  for  a  homestead,  lie  added  that 
"  If  they  [Brace  and  AVynn]  could  bring 
him  along  any  older  American  settler  than  an 
Indian,  they  might  rake  down  his  [Dunn's] 
pile."  Unprepared  for  this  turn  in  the  con 
versation,  Wynn  hastened  to  explain  that 
he  did  not  refer  to  the  pure  aborigine,  whose 
gradual  extinction  no  one  regretted  more  than 
himself,  but  to  the  mongrel,  who  inherited 
only  the  vices  of  civilization.  "  There  should 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  153 

be  a  law,  sir,  against  the  mingling  of  races. 
There  are  men,  sir,  who  violate  the  laws  of 
the  Most  High  by  living  with  Indian  women 
—  squaw  men,  sir,  as  they  are  called." 

Dunn  rose  with  a  face  livid  with  weakness 
and  passion.  "  Who  dares  say  that  ?  They 

are  a  d d  sight  better  than  sneaking 

Northern  Abolitionists,  who  married  their 
daughters  to  buck  niggers  like  "  —  But  a 
spasm  of  pain  withheld  this  Parthian  shot 
at  the  politics  of  his  two  companions,  and  he 
sank  back  helplessly  in  his  chair. 

An  awkward  silence  ensued.  The  three 
men  looked  at  each  other  in  embarrassment 
and  confusion.  Dunn  felt  that  he  had  given 
way  to  a  gratuitous  passion  ;  Wynn  had  a 
vague  presentiment  that  he  had  said  some 
thing  that  imperiled  his  daughter's  pros 
pects ;  and  Brace  was  divided  between  an 
angry  retort  and  the  secret  purpose  already 
alluded  to. 

"It's  all  the  blasted  heat,"  said  Dunn, 
with  a  forced  smile,  pushing  away  the  whisky 


154  IN  THE   CARQUIXEZ    WOODS. 

which  Wynn  hacl  ostentatiously  placed  be 
fore  him. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Wynn  hastily  ;  w%  only 
it 's  a  pity  Nellie  ain't  here  to  give  you  her 
smelling-salts.  She  ought  to  be  back  now," 
he  added,  no  longer  mindful  of  Brace's  pres 
ence  ;  "  the  coach  is  over-due  now,  though  I 
reckon  the  heat  made  Yuba  Bill  take  it  easy 
at  the  up  grade." 

"  If  you  mean  the  coach  from  Indian 
Spring,"  said  Brace  quietly,  "  it 's  in  al 
ready  ;  but  Miss  Nellie  did  n't  come  on  it." 

"  May  be  she  got  out  at  the  Crossing," 
said  Wyim  cheerfully  ;  "  she  sometimes 
does." 

"  She  did  n't  take  the  coach  at  Indian 
Spring,"  returned  Brace,  "  because  I  saw  it 
leave,  and  passed  it  on  Buckskin  ten  min 
utes  ago,  coming  up  the  hills." 

"  She  's  stopped  over  at  Burnhain's,"  said 
Wynn  reflectively.  Then,  in  response  to 
the  significant  silence  of  his  guests,  he  added, 
in  a  tone  of  chagrin  which  his  forced  heart i- 


/AT  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  155 

ness  could  not  disguise,  "  Well,  boys,  it 's  a 
disappointment  all  round ;  but  we  must  take 
the  lesson  .as  it  comes.  I  '11  go  over  to  the 
coach  office  and  see  if  she  's  sent  any  word. 
Make  yourselves  at  home  until  I  return." 

When  the  door  had  closed  behind  him, 
Brace  arose  and  took  his  hat  as  if  to  go. 
With  his  hand  on  the  lock,  he  turned  to  his 
rival,  who,  half  hidden  in  the  gathering 
darkness,  still  seemed  unable  to  comprehend 
his  ill-luck. 

"  If  you  're  waiting  for  that  bald-headed 
fraud  to  come  back  with  the  truth  about  his 
daughter,"  said  Brace  coolly,  "  you  'd  better 
send  for  your  things  and  take  up  your  lodg 
ings  here." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  said  Dunn  sternly. 

"  I  mean  that  she 's  not  at  the  Burnhams' ; 
I  mean  that  he  either  does  or  does  not  know 
where  she  is,  and  that  in  either  case  he  is' 
not   likely  to  give   you  information.      But 
/can." 

"You  can?" 


156  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

"Yes." 

"  Then,  where  is  she  ?  " 

"  In  the  Carquinez  Woods,  in  the  arms  of 
the  man  you  were  just  defending  —  Low,  the 
half-breed." 

The  room  had  become  so  dark  that  from 
the  road  nothing  could  be  distinguished. 
Only  the  momentary  sound  of  struggling 
feet  was  heard. 

"  Sit  down,"  said  Brace's  voice,  "  and  don't 
be  a  fool.  You  're  too  weak,  and  it  ain't  a 
fair  fight.  Let  go  your  hold.  I'm  not 
lying  —  I  wish  to  God  I  was  !  " 

There  was  a  silence,  and  Brace  resumed, 
44  We  Ve  been  rivals,  I  know.  May  be  I 
thought  my  chance  as  good  as  yours.  If 
what  I  say  ain't  truth,  we  '11  stand  as  we 
stood  before  ;  and  if  you  're  on  the  shoot, 
I  'in  your  man  when  you  like,  where  you  like, 
or  on  sight  if  you  choose.  But  I  can't  brar 
to  see  another  man  played  upon  as  I  've  lu-m 
played  upon  —  given  dead  away  as  I  've 
been.  It.  ain't  on  the  square. 


AY  THE   CARQ.UINEZ    WOODS.  157 

"  There,"  he  continued,  after  a  pause, 
"  that 's  right,  now  steady.  Listen.  A  week 
ago  that  girl  went  down  just  like  this  to  In 
dian  Spring.  It  was  given  out,  like  this, 
that  she  went  to  the  Burnhams'.  I  don't 
mind  saying,  Dunn,  that  I  went  down  my 
self,  all  on  the  square,  thinking  I  might  get 
a  show  to  talk  to  her,  just  as  you  might  have 
done,  you  know,  if  you  had  my  chance.  I 
did  n't  come  across  her  anywhere.  But  two 
men  that  I  met  thought  they  recognized 
her  in  a  disguise  going  into  the  woods. 
Not  suspecting  anything,  I  went  after  her ; 
saw  her  at  a  distance  in  the  middle  of  the 
woods  in  another  dress  that  I  can  swear  to, 
and  was  just  coming  up  to  her  when  she 
vanished  —  went  like  a  squirrel  up  a  tree, 
or  down  like  a  gopher  in  the  ground,  but 
vanished." 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  said  Dunn's  voice.  "  And 

just  because  you  were  a  d d  fool,  or 

had  taken  a  little  too  much  whisky,  you 
thought"  — 


158  AY   Till-:   CARQ.UJNEZ    WOODS. 

"  Steady.  That 's  just  what  I  said  to  my 
self,"  interrupted  Brace  coolly,  "  particu 
larly  when  I  saw  her  that  same  afternoon 
in  another  dress,  saying  4Good-by'  to  the 
Burnhams,  as  fresh  as  a  rose  and  as  cold  as 
those  snow-peaks.  Only  one  thing  —  she 
had  a  ring  on  her  finger  she  never  wore  be 
fore,  and  did  n't  expect  me  to  see." 

"  What  if  she  did  ?  She  might  have  bought 
it.  I  reckon  she  has  n't  to  consult  you," 
broke  in  Dunn's  voice  sternly. 

"  She  did  n't  buy  it,"  continued  Brace  qui 
etly.  "Low  gave  that  Jew  trader  a  bear 
skin  in  exchange  for  it,  and  presented  it  to 
her.  1  found  that  out  two  days  afterwards. 
I  found  out  that  out  of  the  whole  afternoon 
she  spent  less  than  an  hour  with  the  Burn- 
hums.  I  found  out  that  she  bought  a  duster 
like  the  disguise  the  two  men  saw  her  in.  I 
found  the  yellow  dress  she  wore  that  day 
hanging  up  in  Low's  cabin  —  the  place  where 
I  saw  her  go  —  the  rendezvous  v* It  ere  ,*//« 
meets  him.  Oh,  you  're  listening  are  you  ? 
Stop  !  SIT  DOWN  ! 


IN  THE  CARQU1NEZ  WOODS.     159 

"  I  discovered  it  by  accident,"  continued 
the  voice  of  Brace  when  all  was  again  quiet ; 
u  it  was  hidden  as  only  a  squirrel  or  an  Injin 
can  hide  when  they  improve  upon  nature. 
When  I  was  satisfied  that  the  girl  had  been 
in  the  woods,  I  was  determined  to  find  out 
where  she  vanished,  and  went  there  again. 
Prospecting  around,  I  picked  up  at  the  foot 
of  one  of  the  biggest  trees  this  yer  old  mem 
orandum-book,  with  grasses  and  herbs  stuck 
in  it.  I  remembered  that  I  'd  heard  old 

Wynn  say  that  Low,  like  the  d d  Digger 

that  he  was,  collected  these  herbs ;  only  he 
pretended  it  was  for  science.  I  reckoned  the 
book  was  his  and  that  he  mightn't  be  far 
away.  I  lay  low  and  waited.  Bimeby  I  saw 
a  lizard  running  down  the  root.  When  he 
got  sight  of  me  he  stopped." 

"  D n  the  lizard  !  What 's  that  got  to 

do  with  where  she  is  now  ?  " 

"  Everything.  That  lizard  had  a  piece  of 
sugar  in  his  mouth.  Where  did  it  come 
from  ?  I  made  him  drop  it,  and  calculated 


160  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

he  'd  go  back  for  more.  He  did.  lie  scooted 
up  that  tree  and  slipped  in  under  some  hang 
ing  strips  of  bark.  I  shoved  'em  aside,  and 
found  an  opening  to  the  hollow  where  they 
do  their  housekeeping." 

"  But  you  did  n't  see  her  there  —  and  how 
do  you  know  she  is  there  now  ?  " 

"  I  determined  to  make  it  sure.  When 
she  left  to-day,  I  started  an  hour  ahead  of 
her,  and  hid  myself  at  the  edge  of  the  woods. 
An  hour  after  the  coach  arrived  at  Indian 
Spring,  she  came  there  in  a  brown  duster 
and  was  joined  by  him.  I  'd  have  followed 

them,  but  the  d d  hound  has  the  ears  of 

a  squirrel,  and  though  I  was  five  bandied 
yards  from  him  he  was  on  his  guard." 

"  Guard  be  blessed  !  Was  n't  you  armed  ? 
Why  did  n't  you  go  for  him?"  said  Dunn, 
furiously. 

"  I  reckoned  I  'd  leave  that  for  you,"  said 
Brace  coolly.  "If  he  'd  killed  me,  and  if 
he  'd  even  covered  me  with  his  rifle,  he  'd 
been  sure  to  let  daylight  through  me  at 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  161 

double  the  distance.  I  should  n't  have  been 
any  better  off,  nor  you  either.  If  I  'd  killed 
him,  it  would  have  been  your  duty  as  sheriff 
.to  put  me  in  jail ;  and  I  reckon  it  would  n't 
have  broken  your  heart,  Jim  Dunn,  to  have 
got  rid  of  two  rivals  instead  of  one.  Hullo ! 
Where  are  you  going  ?  " 

"  Going  ?  "  said  Dunn  hoarsely.  "  Going 
to  the  Carquinez  Woods,  by  God  !  to  kill  him 
before  her.  / '//  risk  it,  if  you  dare  n't.  Let 
me  succeed,  and  you  can  hang  me  and  take 
the  girl  yourself." 

"  Sit  down,  sit  down.  Don't  be  a  fool, 
Jim  Dunn  !  You  would  n't  keep  the  saddle 
a  hundred  yards.  Did  I  say  I  would  n't  help 
you  ?  No.  If  you  're  willing,  we  '11  run  the 
risk  together,  but  it  must  be  in  my  way. 
Hear  me.  I  '11  drive  you  down  there  in  a 
buggy  before  daylight,  and  we  '11  surprise 
them  in  the  cabin  or  as  they  leave  the  wood. 
But  you  must  come  as  if  to  arrest  him  for 
some  offense  —  say,  as  an  escaped  Digger 
from  the  Reservation,  a  dangerous  tramp,  a 
11 


162  IN  THE  CARQUINKZ  WOODS. 

destroyer  of  public  property  in  the  forests, 
a  suspected  road  agent,  or  anything  to  give 
you  the  right  to  hunt  him.  The  exposure  of 
hi  111  and  Nellie,  don't  you  see,  must  be  acci 
dental.  If  he  resists,  kill  him  on  the  spot, 
and  nobody  '11  blame  you  ;  if  he  goes  peace 
ably  with  you,  and  you  once  get  him  in  Ex 
celsior  jail,  when  the  story  gets  out  that  he  V 
taken  the  belle  of  Excelsior  for  his  squaw,  if 
you'd  the  angels  for  your  posse  you  could  n't 
keep  the  boys  from  hanging  him  to  the  first 
tree.  What's  that?" 

He  walked  to  the  window,  and  looked  out 
cautiously. 

"  If  it  was  the  old  man  coming  back  and 
listening,"  he  said,  after  a  pause,  "  it  can't 
be  helped.  He- '11  hear  it  soon  enough,  if  he 
don't  suspect  something  already." 

u  Look  yer,  Brace,"  broke  in  Dunn  hoarsely. 

44  D d  if  I  understand  you  or  you  me. 

That  dog  Low  has  got  to  answer  to  /nc.  not 
to  the  law  !  I  '11  take  my  risk  of  killing  him, 
on  sight  and  on  the  square.  I  don't  reck- 


JN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.     163 

on  to  handicap  myself  with  a  warrant,  and 
I  am  not  going  to  draw  him  out  with  a  lie. 
You  hear  me  ?  That 's  me  all  the  time !  " 

"Then  you  calkilate  to  go  down  thar," 
said  Brace  contemptuously,  "yell  out  for 
him  and  Nellie,  and  let  him  line  you  on 
a  rest  from  the  first  tree  as  if  you  were  a 
grizzly." 

There  was  a  pause.  "  What 's  that  you 
were  saying  just  now  about  a  bearskin  he 
sold  ?  "  asked  Dunn  slowly,  as  if  reflecting. 

"  He  exchanged  a  bearskin,"  replied 
Brace,  "  with  a  single  hole  right  over  the 
heart.  He  's  a  dead  shot,  I  tell  you." 

"  D n  his  shooting,"  said  Dunn.  "  I  'm 

not  thinking  of  that.  How  long  ago  did  he 
bring  in  that  bearskin  ?  " 

"  About  two  weeks,  I  reckon.     Why  ?  " 

"  Nothing !  Look  yer,  Brace,  you  mean 
well  —  thar 's  my  hand.  I  '11  go  down  with 
you  there,  but  not  as  the  sheriff.  I  'm 
going  there  as  Jim  Dunn,  and  you  can 
come  along  as  a  white  man,  to  see  things 
fixed  on  the  square.  Come !  " 


164          IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

Brace  hesitated.  "  You  '11  think  better  of 
my  plan  before  you  get  there  ;  but  I  've 
said  I  'd  stand  by  you,  and  I  will.  Come, 
then.  There 's  no  time  to  lose." 

They  passed  out  into  the  darkness  to 
gether. 

"  What  are  you  waiting  for  ?  "  said  Dunn 
impatiently,  as  Brace,  who  was  supporting 
him  by  the  arm,  suddenly  halted  at  the  cor 
ner  of  the  house. 

"  Some  one  was  listening  —  did  you  not 
see  him  ?  Was  it  the  old  man  ? "  asked 
Brace  hurriedly. 

"  Blast  the  old  man !  It  was  only  one  of 
them  Mexican  packers  chock-full  of  whisky, 
and  trying  to  hold  up  the  house.  What  are 
you  thinking  of?  We  shall  be  late." 

In  spite  of  his  weakness,  the  wounded 
man  hurriedly  urged  Brace  forward,  until 
they  reached  the  latter's  lodgings.  To  his 
surprise,  the  horse  and  boggy  were  already 
before  the  door. 

"Then   you  reckoned   to  go,  any  way?" 


IN  THE  CARQULNEZ  WOODS.     165 

said  Dunn,  with  a  searching  look  at  his  com 
panion. 

"  I  calkilated  somebody  would  go,"  re 
turned  Brace,  evasively,  patting  the  impa 
tient  Buckskin ;  "  but  come  in  and  take  a 
drink  before  we  leave." 

Dunn  started  out  of  a  momentary  abstrac 
tion,  put  his  hand  on  his  hip,  and  mechan 
ically  entered  the  house.  They  had  scarcely 
raised  the  glasses  to  their  lips  when  a  sud 
den  rattle  of  wheels  was  heard  in  the  street. 
Brace  set  down  his  glass  and  ran  to  the  win 
dow. 

"  It 's  the  mare  bolted,"  he  said,  with  an 
oath.  "  We  've  kept  her  too  long  standing. 
Follow  me,"  and  he  dashed  down  the  stair 
case  into  the  street.  Dunn  followed  with 
difficulty ;  when  he  reached  the  door  he  was 
already  confronted  by  his  breathless  com 
panion.  "  She 's  gone  off  on  a  run,  and 
I  '11  swear  there  was  a  man  in  the  buggy !  " 
Pie  stopped  and  examined  the  halter-strap, 
still  fastened  to  the  fence.  "  Cut !  by 
God ! " 


166  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

Dunn  turned  pale  with  passion.  "Who *s 
got  another  horse  and  buggy  ? "  he  de 
manded. 

"  The  new  blacksmith  in  Main  Street ; 
but  we  won't  get  it  by  borrowing,"  said 
Brace. 

"  How,  then  ?  "  asked  Dunn  savagely. 

"  Seize  it,  as  the  sheriff  of  Yuba  and  his 
deputy,  pursuing  a  confederate  of  the  Injin 

Low  —  THE  HORSE  THIEF  !  " 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  brief  hour  of  darkness  that  preceded 
the  dawn  was  that  night  intensified  by  a 
dense  smoke,  which,  after  blotting  out  hori 
zon  and  sky,  dropped  a  thick  veil  on  the 
high  road  and  the  silent  streets  of  Indian 
Spring.  As  the  buggy  containing  Sheriff 
Dunn  and  Brace  dashed  through  the  ob 
scurity,  Brace  suddenly  turned  to  his  com 
panion. 

"  Some  one  ahead !  " 

The  two  men  bent  forward  over  the  dash 
board.  Above  the  steady  plunging  of  their 
own  horse-hoofs  they  could  hear  the  quicker 
irregular  beat  of  other  hoofs  in  the  darkness 
before  them. 

"  It 's  that  horse  thief !  "  said  Dunn,  in  a 
savage  whisper.  "Bear  to  the  right,  and 
hand  me  the  whip." 


168     IN  THE  CARQU1NEZ  WOODS. 

A  dozen  cuts  of  the  cruel  lash,  and  their 
maddened  horse,  bounding  at  eaeh  stroke, 
broke  into  a  wild  eanter.  The  frail  vehicle 
swayed  from  side  to  side  at  eaeh  spring  of 
the  elastic  shafts.  Steadying  himself  by 
one  hand  on  the  low  rail,  Dunn  drew  his  re 
volver  with  the  other.  "  Sing  out  to  him 
to  pull  up,  or  we  '11  fire.  My  voice  is  clean 
gone,"  he  added,  in  a  husky  whisper. 

They  were  so  near  that  they  could  dis 
tinguish  the  bulk  of  a  vehicle  careering  from 
side  to  side  in  the  blackness  ahead.  Dunn 
deliberately  raised  his  weapon.  u  Sing  out !  " 
he  repeated  impatiently.  But  Brace,  who 
was  still  keeping  in  the  shadow,  suddenly 
grasped  his  companion's  arm. 

"  Hush  !  It 's  not  Buckskin,"  he  whis 
pered  hurriedly. 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  " 

"Dont  you  see  we  're  yuinintj  on  him  /  n 
replied  the  other  contemptuously.  Dunn 
grasped  his  companion's  hand  and  pressed  it 
silently.  Even  in  that  supremo  moment 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  169 

tins  horseman's  tribute  to  the  fugitive  Buck 
skin  forestalled  all  baser  considerations  of 
pursuit  and  capture ! 

In  twenty  seconds  they  were  abreast  of 
the  stranger,  crowding  his  horse  and  buggy 
nearly  into  the  ditch ;  Brace  keenly  watch 
ful,  Dunn  suppressed  and  pale.  In  half  a 
minute  they  were  leading  him  a  length ; 
and  when  their  horse  again  settled  down  to 
his  steady  work,  the  stranger  was  already 
lost  in  the  circling  dust  that  followed  them. 
But  the  victors  seemed  disappointed.  The 
obscurity  had  completely  hidden  all  but  the 
vague  outlines  of  the  mysterious  driver. 

"  He  's  not  our  game,  any  way,'1  whispered 
Dunn.  "  Drive  on." 

"  But  if  it  was  some  friend  of  his,"  sug 
gested  Brace  uneasily,  "what  would  you 
do?" 

"  What  I  said  I  'd  do,"  responded  Dunn 
savagely.  "  I  don't  want  five  minutes  to  do 
it  in,  either  ;  we  '11  be  half  an  hour  ahead  of 
that  tl d  fool,  whoever  he  is.  Look  here ; 


170        IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

all  you  've  got  to  do  is  to  put  me  in  the  trail 
to  that  cabin.  Stand  back  of  me,  out  of 
gun-shot,  alone,  if  you  like,  as  my  deputy,  or 
with  any  number  you  can  pick  up  as  my 
posse.  If  he  gets  by  me  as  Nellie's  lover, 
you  may  shoot  him  or  take  him  as  a  horse 
thief,  if  you  like." 

"  Then  you  won't  shoot  him  on  sight  ?  " 

44  Not  till  I  've  had  a  word  with  him." 

"But"- 

44 1  've  chirped,"  said  the  sheriff  gravely. 
"Drive  on." 

For  a  few  moments  only  the  plunging 
hoofs  and  rattling  wheels  were  heard.  A 
dull,  lurid  glow  began  to  define  the  horizon. 
They  were  silent  until  an  abatement  of  the 
smoke,  the  vanishing  of  the  gloomy  horizon 
line,  and  a  certain  impenetrability  in  the 
darkness  ahead  showed  them  they  were 
nearing  the  Carquinez  Woods.  But  they 
were  surprised  on  entering  them  to  find  the 
dim  aisles  alight  with  a  faint  mystic*  Aurora. 
The  tops  of  the  towering  spires  above  them 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.     171 

had  caught  the  gleam  of  the  distant  forest 
fires,  and  reflected  it  as  from  a  gilded  dome. 

"  It  would  be  hot  work  if  the  Carquinez 
Woods  should  conclude  to  take  a  hand  in 
this  yer  little  game  that 's  going  on  over  on 
the  Divide  yonder,"  said  Brace,  securing  his 
horse  and  glancing  at  the  spires  overhead. 
"  I  reckon  I  'd  rather  take  a  back  seat  at 
Injin  Spring  when  the  show  commences." 

Dunn  did  not  reply,  but,  buttoning  his 
coat,  placed  one  hand  on  his  companion's 
shoulder,  and  sullenly  bade  him  "  lead  the 
way."  Advancing  slowly  and  with  difficulty 
the  desperate  man  might  have  been  taken 
for  a  peaceful  invalid  returning  from  an 
early  morning  stroll.  His  right  hand  was 
buried  thoughtfully  in  the  side  pocket  of  his 
coat.  Only  Brace  knew  that  it  rested  on  the 
handle  of  his  pistol. 

From  time  to  time  the  latter  stopped  and 
consulted  the  faint  trail  with  a  minuteness 
that  showed  recent  careful  study.  Suddenly 
he  paused.  "  I  made  a  blaze  hereabouts  to 


172        AV  TIU:  cAiuinxr.z  WOODS. 

show  who iv  to  leave  thi'  trail.  There  it  is," 
he  added,  pointing  to  a  slight  notch  cut  in 
the  trunk  of  an  adjoining  tree. 

"•  l>ut  we've  just  passed  one,"  said  Dunn, 
"  if  that 's  what  you  are  looking  after  .jo..iiin- 
dred  yards  back." 

liraee  uttered  an  oath,  and  ran  hack  in  the 
direction  signified  by  his  companion.  Pres 
ently  he  returned  with  a  smile  of  triumph. 

"They've  suspected  something.  It's  a 
clever  trick,  but  it  won't  hold  water.  That 
blaxe  which  was  done  to  muddle  yon  was  cut 
with  an  axe  ;  this  which  I  made  was  done 
with  a  bowie-knife.  It 's  the  real  one.  We  're 
not  far  off  now.  Come  on." 

They  proceeded  cautiously,  at  right  angles 
with  the  "  blazed  "  tree,  for  ten  minutes  more. 
The  heat  was  oppressive;  drops  of  perspira 
tion  rolled  from  the  forehead  of  the  sheriff, 
and  at  times,  when  lie  attempted  to  steady 
his  uncertain  limbs,  his  hands  shrank  from 
the  heated,  blistering  bark  he  touched  with 

D 

ungloved  palms. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  173 

"  Here  we  are,"  said  Brace,  pausing  at 
last.  "  Do  you  see  that  biggest  tree,  with 
the  root  stretching  out  half-way  across  to  the 
opposite  one?  " 

"  No,  it 's  further  to  the  right  and  abreast 
of  the  dead  brush,"  interrupted  Dunn 
quickly,  with  a  sudden  revelation  that  this 
was  the  spot  where  he  had  found  the  dead 
bear  in  the  night  Teresa  escaped. 

"  That 's  so,"  responded  Brace,  in  aston 
ishment. 

"And  the  opening  is  on  the  other  side, 
opposite  the  dead  brush,"  said  Dunn. 

"  Then  you  know  it  ?  "  said  Brace  sus 
piciously. 

"  I  reckon  ! "  responded  Dunn,  grimly. 
"  That 's  enough !  Fall  back !  " 

To  the  surprise  of  his  companion,  he  lifted 
his  head  erect,  and  with  a  strong,  firm  step 
walked  directly  to  the  tree.  Reaching  it,  he 
planted  himself  squarely  before  the  opening. 

"Halloo!  "he  said.   " 

There  was  no  reply.      A  squirrel   scam- 


174  IN  TILE   CARQ.U1NEZ   WOODS. 

pered'away  close  to  his  feet.  Brace,  far  in 
the  distance,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to 
distinguish  his  companion  through  the  in 
tervening  trunks,  took  off  his  coat,  leaned 
against  a  tree,  and  lit  a  cigar. 

"  Come  out  of  that  cabin  ! "  continued 
Dunn,  in  a  clear,  resonant  voice.  "  Come 
out  before  I  drag  you  out !  " 

"  All  right, 4  Captain  Scott.'  Don't  shoot, 
and  I  '11  come  down,"  said  a  voice  as  clear 
and  as  high  as  his  own.  The  hanging  strips 
of  bark  were  dashed  aside,  and  a  woman 
leaped  lightly  to  the  ground. 

Dunn  staggered  back.  "  Teresa !  by  the 
Eternal !  " 

It  was  Teresa!  the  old  Teresa!  Teresa, 
a  hundred  times  more  vicious,  reckless,  hys 
terical,  extravagant,  and  outrageous  than 
before.  Teresa,  staring  with  tooth  and  eye, 
sunburnt  and  embrowned,  her  hair  hanging 
down  her  shoulders,  and  her  shawl  drawn 
tightly  around  her  neck. 

"  Teresa  it  is  !  the  same  old  gal !     Here 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  175 

!  Return  of  the  favorite  in  her 
original  character !  For  two  weeks  only ! 
Houp  la  !  Tshk !  "  and,  catching  her  yellow 
skirt  with  her  fingers,  she  pirouetted  before 
the  astounded  man,  and  ended  in  a  pose. 
Recovering  himself  with  an  effort,  Dunn 
dashed  forward  and  seized  her  by  the  wrist. 

"  Answer  me,  woman !  Is  that  Low's 
cabin?" 

"It  is." 

"  Who  occupies  it  besides  ?  " 

« I  do." 

"  And  who  else  ?  " 

"  Well,"  drawled  Teresa  slowly,  with  an 
extravagant  affectation  of  modesty,  "  nobody 
else  but  us,  I  reckon.  Two  's  company,  you 
know,  and  three  's  none." 

"  Stop  !  Will  you  swear  that  there  is  n't 
a  young  girl,  his  —  his  sweetheart  —  con 
cealed  there  with  you  ?  " 

The  fire  in  Teresa's  eye  was  genuine  as  she 
answered  steadily,  "  Well,  it  ain't  my  style 
to  put  up  with  that  sort  of  thing  ;  at  least,  it 


176  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

was  n't  over  at  Yolo,  and  you  know  it,  Jim 
Dunn,  or  I  would  n't  be  here." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Dunn  hurriedly.  u  But 

I  'in  a  d d  fool,  or  worse,  the  fool  of  a 

fool.  Tell  me,  Teresa,  is  this  man  Low  your 
lover?" 

Teresa  lowered  her  eyes  as  if  in  maidenly 
confusion.  "  "Well,  if  I  'd  known  that  you 
had  any  feeling  of  your  own  about  it  —  if 
you  'd  spoken  sooner  "  — 

"  Answer  me,  you  devil !  " 

"  He  is." 

"  And  he  has  been  with  you  here  —  yes 
terday —  to-night?" 

"Helms." 

"  Enough."  He  laughed  a  weak,  foolish 
laugh,  and,  turning  pale,  suddenly  lapsed 
against  a  tree,  lie  would  have  fallen,  but 
with  a  quiek  instinct  Teresa  sprang  to  his 
side,  and  supported  him  gently  to  a  root. 
The  action  over  they  both  looked  astounded. 

"I  reckon  that  wasn't  much  like  either 
you  or  me,"  said  Dunn  slowly,  "  was  it  ?  Baft 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  177 

if  you  'd  let  me  drop  then  you  'd  have 
stretched  out  the  biggest  fool  in  the  Sierras." 
He  paused,  and  looked  at  her  curiously. 
"  What 's  come  over  you  ;  blessed  if  I  seem 
to  know  you  now." 

She  was  very  pale  again,  and  quiet ;  that 
was  all. 

"  Teresa  !  d n  it,  look  here  I  When 

I  was  laid  up  yonder  in  Excelsior  I  said  I 
wanted  to  get  well  for  only  two  things.  One 
was  to  hunt  you  down,  the  other  to  marry 
Nellie  Wynn.  When  I  came  here  I  thought 
that  last  thing  could  never  be.  I  came  here 
expecting  to  find  her  here  with  Low,  and  kill 
him  —  perhaps  kill  her  too.  I  never  even 
thought  of  you  ;  not  once.  You  might  have 
risen  up  before  me  —  between  me  and  him 
—  and  I  'd  have  passed  you  by.  And  now 
that  I  find  it 's  all  a  mistake,  and  it  was  you, 
not  her,  I  was  looking  for,  why  "  — 

"  Why,"  she  interrupted  bitterly,  "  you  '11 
just  take  me,  of  course,  to  save  your  time  and 
earn  your  salary.  I  'm  ready." 

12 


178        IN  THE  cAiuinxr.z  WOODS. 

"  But  /  'm  not,  just  yet,"  lie  said  faintly. 
"  Help  me  up." 

She  mechanically  assisted  him  to  his  feet. 

"Now  stand  where  you  are,"  he  added, 
"  and  don't  move  beyond  this  tree  till  I  re 
turn." 

He  straightened  himself  with  an  effort, 
clenched  his  fists  until  the  nails  were  nearly 
buried  in  his  palms,  and  strode  with  a  firm, 
steady  step  in  the  direction  he  had  come.  In 
a  few  moments  he  returned  and  stood  before 
her. 

"I've  sent  away  my  deputy  —  the  man 
who  brought  me  here,  the  fool  who  thought 
you  were  Nellie.  He  knows  now  he  made 
a  mistake.  But  who  it  was  lie  mistook  for 
Nellie  he  does  not  know,  nor  shall  ever  know, 
nor  shall  any  living  being  know,  other  than 
myself.  And  when  I  leave  the  wood  to-day 
I  shall  know  it  no  longer.  You  are  safe 
here  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  but  I  eannot 
screen  you  from  others  prying.  Let  Low 
take  you  away  from  here  a 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  179 

"  Let  him  take  me  away  ?  Ah,  yes.  For 
what?" 

"  To  save  you,"  said  Dunn.  "  Look  here, 
Teresa  !  Without  knowing  it,  you  lifted  me 
out  of  hell  just  now,  and  because  of  the  wrong 
I  might  have  done  her  —  for  her  sake,  I 
spare  you  and  shirk  my  duty." 

"  For  her  sake !  "  gasped  the  woman  — 
"  for  her  sake  !  Oh,  yes  !  Go  on." 

"  Well,"  said  Dunn  gloomily,  "  I  reckon 
perhaps  you  'd  as  lieve  left  me  in  hell,  for  all 
the  love  you  bear  me.  And  may  be  you  've 
grudge  enough  agin  me  still  to  wish  I'd 
found  her  and  him  together." 

"  You  think  so?  "  she  said,  turning  her  head 
away. 

"  There,  d n  it  !  I  did  n't  mean  to 

make  you  cry.  May  be  you  would  n't,  then. 
Only  tell  that  fellow  to  take  you  out  of  this, 
and  not  run  away  the  next  time  he  sees  a 
man  coming." 

"  He  did  n't  run,"  said  Teresa,  with  flash 
ing  eyes.  "  I  —  I  —  I  sent  him  away,"  she 


180  AV   THE  CAR QU INEZ    WOODS. 

stammered.  Then,  suddenly  turning  with 
fury  upon  him,  she  broke  out,  "  Kim  !  Kun 
from  you !  Ha,  ha !  You  said  just  now 
I  'd  a  grudge  against  you.  Well,  listen,  Jim 
Dunn.  I  'd  only  to  bring  you  in  range  of 
that  young  man's  rifle,  and  you  'd  have 
dropped  in  your  tracks  like  "  — 

"Like  that  bar,  the  other  night,"  said 
Dunn,  with  a  short  laugh.  "  So  that  was 
your  little  game  ?  "  He  checked  his  laugh 
suddenly  —  a  cloud  passed  over  his  face. 
"Look  here,  Teresa,"  he  said,  with  an  as 
sumption  of  carelessness  that  was  as  trans 
parent  as  it  was  utterly  incompatible  with 
his  frank,  open  selfishness.  "  \Yhat  became 
of  that  bar  ?  The  skin  —  eh  ?  That  was 
worth  something  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Teresa  quietly.  "  Low  ex- 
rhanged  it  and  got  a  ring  for  me  from  that 
trader  Isaacs.  It  was  worth  more,  you  bet. 
And  the  ring  did  n't  fit  either  " — 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Dunn,  with  an  almost 
childish  e 


fN  THE  CAR  QU  INEZ   WOODS.  181 

"  And  I  made  him  take  it  back,  and  get 
the  value  in  money.  I  hear  that  Isaacs  sold 
it  again  and  made  another  profit ;  but  that 's 
like  those  traders."  The  disingenuous  can 
dor  of  Teresa's  manner  was  in  exquisite 
contrast  to  Dunn.  He  rose  and  grasped  her 
hand  so  heartily  she  was  forced  to  turn  her 
eyes  away. 

"  Good-by  !  "  he  said. 

"You  look  tired,"  she  murmured,  with  a 
sudden  gentleness  that  surprised  him ;  "  let 
me  go  with  you  a  part  of  the  way." 

"  It  is  n't  safe  for  you  just  now,"  he  said, 
thinking  of  the  possible  consequences  of  the 
alarm  Brace  had  raised. 

"  Not  the  way  you  came,"  she  replied ; 
"  but  one  known  only  to  myself." 

He  hesitated  only  a  moment.  "  All  right, 
then,"  he  said  finally,  "  let  us  go  at  once. 
It  's  suffocating  here,  and  I  seem  to  feel  this 
dead  bark  crinkle  under  my  feet." 

She  cast  a  rapid  glance  around  her,  and 
then  seemed  to  sound  with  her  eyes  the  far- 


182        IN  Tin-:  cAU(irixr.z  WOODS. 

off  depths  of  the  aisles,  beginning  to  grow 
pale  with  the  advancing  day,  but  still  hold 
ing  a  strange  quiver  of  heat  in  the  air. 
When  she  had  finished  her  half-abstracted 
scrutiny  of  the  distance,  she  cast  one  back 
ward  glance  at  her  own  cabin  and  stopped. 

"Will  you  wait  a  moment  for  me  ?  "  she 
asked  gently. 

"  Yes  —  but  — no  tricks,  Teresa !  It  is  n't 
worth  the  time." 

She  looked  him  squarely  in  the  eyes  with 
out  a  word. 

"  Enough,"  he  said ;  "  go  !  " 

She  was  absent  for  some  moments.  He 
was  beginning  to  become  uneasy,  when  she 
made  her  appearance  again,  clad  in  her  old 
faded  black  dress.  Her  face  was  very  pale, 
and  her  eyes  were  swollen,  but  she  placed 
his  hand  on  her  shoulder,  and  bidding  him 
not  to  fear  to  lean  upon  her,  for  she  was 
quite  strong,  led  the  way. 

u  You  look  more  like  yourself  now,  and 
yet  —  blast  it  all !  — you  don't  either,"  said 


IN  THE   CARQUTNEZ  WOODS.  183 

Dunn,  looking  down  upon  her.  "  You  've 
changed  in  some  way.  What  is  it  ?  Is  it 
on  account  of  that  Iiijin  ?  Could  n't  you 
have  found  a  white  man  in  his  place  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  he  's  neither  worse  nor  better 
for  that,"  she  replied  bitterly  ;  "and  perhaps 
he  was  n't  as  particular  in  his  taste  as  a 
white  man  might  have  been.  But,"  she  add 
ed,  with  a  sudden  spasm  of  her  old  rage, 
"  it 's  a  lie ;  he 's  not  an  Indian,  110  more 
than  I  am.  Not  unless  being  born  of  a 
mother  who  scarcely  knew  him,  of  a  father 
who  never  even  saw  him,  and  being  brought 
up  among  white  men  and  wild  beasts  —  less 
cruel  than  they  were  —  could  make  him 
one !  " 

Dunn  looked  at  her  in  surprise  not  un 
mixed  with  admiration.  "  If  Nellie,"  he 
thought,  "  could  but  love  me  like  that ! " 
But  he  only  said  :  — 

"  For  all  that,  he  's  an  Injin.  Why,  look 
at  his  name.  It  ain't  Low.  It  's  U Eau 
Dormante,  Sleeping  Water,  an  Injin  name." 


184        IN  THE  (\\Ranxy.z  WOODS. 

"  And  what  does  that  prove  ? "  returned 
Teresa.  "Only  that  Indians  c-lap  a  nick 
name  on  any  stranger,  white  or  red,  who 
may  camp  with  them.  Why,  even  his  own 
father,  a  white  man,  the  wretch  who  begot 
him  and  abandoned  him,  —  he  had  an  In 
dian  name  —  Loup  JVo/V." 

"  What  name  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  Le  Loup  Noir,  the  Black  Wolf.  I 
suppose  you  'd  call  him  an  Indian,  too  ?  Eh ! 
What's  the  matter?  We're  walking  too 
fast.  Stop  a  moment  and  rest.  There  — 
there,  lean  on  me !  " 

She  was  none  too  soon  ;  for,  after  holding 
him  upright  a  moment,  his  limbs  failed,  and 
stooping  gently  she  was  obliged  to  support 
him  half  reclining  against  a  tree. 

"It's  the  heat!"  he  said.  "Give  me 
some  whisky  from  my  flask.  Never  mind 
the  water,"  he  added  faintly,  with  a  foived 
laugh,  after  he  had  taken  a  draught  at  the 
strong  spirit.  "Tell  me  more  about  the 
other  water  —  the  Sleeping  Water  —  you 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  185 

know.  How  do  you  know  all  this  about  him 
and  his  —  father  ?  " 

"  Partly  from  him  and  partly  from  Cur- 
son,  who  wrote  to  me  about  him,"  she  an 
swered,  with  some  hesitation. 

But  Dunn  did  not  seem  to  notice  this  in 
congruity  of  correspondence  with  a  former 
lover.  "  And  he  told  you?  " 

"  Yes  ;  and  I  saw  the  name  on  an  old 
memorandum  book  he  has,  which  he  says 
belonged  to  his  father.  It  's  full  of  old 
accounts  of  some  trading  post  on  the  fron 
tier.  It  's  been  missing  for  a  day  or  two, 
but  it  will  turn  up.  But  I  can  swear  I  saw 
it." 

Dunn  attempted  to  rise  to  his  feet.  "  Put 
your  hand  in  my  pocket,"  he  said  in  a  hurried 
whisper.  "  No,  there  !  —  bring  out  a  book. 
There,  I  have  n't  looked  at  it  yet.  Is  that 
it  ?  "  he  added,  handing  her  the  book  Brace 
had  given  him  a  few  hours  before. 

"  Yes,"  said  Teresa,  in  surprise.  "  Where 
did  you  find  it  ?  " 


186  IN  THE   CARQrr\EZ   WOODS. 

"  Never  mind  !  Now  let  me  see  it,  quick. 
Open  it,  for  my  sight  is  failing.  There  — 
thank  you  —  that 's  all !  " 

"  Take  more  whisky,"  said  Teresa,  with 
a  strange  anxiety  creeping  over  her.  "  You 
are  faint  again." 

"  Wait  !  Listen,  Teresa  —  lower  —  put 
your  ear  lower.  Listen  !  I  came  near  kill 
ing  that  chap  Low  to-day.  Would  n't  it  have 
been  ridiculous  ?  " 

He  tried  to  smile,  but  his  head  fell  back. 
He  had  fainted. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FOE  the  first  time  in  her  life  Teresa  lost 
her  presence  of  mind  in  an  emergency.  She 
could  only  sit  staring  at  the  helpless  man, 
scarcely  conscious  of  his  condition,  her  mind 
filled  with  a  sudden  prophetic  intuition  of 
the  significance  of  his  last  words.  In  the 
light  of  that  new  revelation  she  looked  into 
his  pale,  haggard  face  for  some  resemblance 
to  Low,  but  in  vain.  Yet  her  swift  feminine 
instinct  met  the  objection.  "  It 's  the  moth 
er's  blood  that  would  show,"  she  murmured, 
"  not  this  man's." 

Kecovering  herself,  she  began  to  chafe  his 
hands  and  temples,  and  moistened  his  lips 
with  the  spirit.  When  his  respiration  re 
turned  with  a  faint  color  to  his  cheeks,  she 
pressed  his  hand  eagerly  and  leaned  over 
him. 


188  AV  THE   CARQrjXXZ    WOODS. 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  "  she  asked. 
"  Of  what?  "  he  whispered  faintly. 
"  That  Low  is  really  your  son  ?  " 
"  AVho  said  so  ?  "   he  asked,  opening  his 
round  eyes  upon  her. 

"  You  did  yourself,  a  moment  ago/'  she 
said  quickly.     "  Don't  you  remember  ?  " 
"Did  I?" 

"  You  did.  Is  it  not  so  ?  " 
He  smiled  faintly.  "  I  reckon." 
She  held  her  breath  in  expectation.  But 
only  the  ludicrousness  of  the  discovery  seemed 
paramount  to  his  weakened  faculties.  "Is 
n't  it  just  about  the  ridiculousest  thing  all 
round  ? "  he  said,  with  a  feeble  chuckle. 
"  First  you  nearly  kill  me  before  you  know 
I  am  Low's  father ;  then  I  'm  just  spoilin' 
to  kill  him  before  I  know  he  s  my  son  :  then 
that  god-forsaken  fool  Jack  Brace  mistakes 
you  for  Nellie,  and  Nellie  for  you.  Ain't  it 
just  the  biggest  thing  for  the  boys  to  get 
hold  of?  But  we  must  keep  it  dark  until 
after  I  marry  Nellie,  don't  you  see  ?  Then 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  189 

we  '11  have  a  good  time  all  round,  and  I  '11 
stand  the  drinks.  Think  of  it,  Teresha ! 
You  don'  no  me,  I  do'  no  you,  nobody  knowsh 
anybody  elsh.  I  try  kill  Lo'.  Lo'  wants 
kill  Nellie.  No  thath  no  ri'  "  —  but  the  po 
tent  liquor,  overtaking  his  exhausted  senses, 
thickened,  impeded,  and  at  last  stopped  his 
speech.  His  head  slipped  to  her  shoulder, 
and  he  became  once  more  unconscious. 

Teresa  breathed  again.  In  that  brief  mo 
ment  she  had  abandoned  herself  to  a  wild 
inspiration  of  hope  which  she  could  scarcely 
define.  Not  that  it  was  entirely  a  wild  in 
spiration  ;  she  tried  to  reason  calmly.  What 
if  she  revealed  the  truth  to  him  ?  What  if 
she  told  the  wretched  man  before  her  that  she 
had  deceived  him  ;  that  she  had  overheard 
his  conversation  with  Brace  ;  that  she  had 
stolen  Brace's  horse  to  bring  Low  warning; 
that,  failing  to  find  Low  in  his  accustomed 
haunts,  or  at  the  camp-fire,  she  had  left  a 
note  for  him  pinned  to  the  herbarium,  im 
ploring  him  to  fly  with  his  companion  from 


190  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ   WOODS. 

the  clanger  that  was  coming ;  and  that,  re 
maining  on  watch,  she  had  seen  them  both  — 
Brace  and  Dunn  —  approaching,  and  had 
prepared  to  meet  them  at  the  cabin  ?  Would 
this  miserable  and  maddened  man  under 
stand  her  self-abnegation  ?  AVould  he  forgive 
Low  and  Nellie? —  she  did  not  ask  for  her 
self.  Or  would  the  revelation  turn  his  brain, 
if  it  did  not  kill  him  outright  ?  She  looked 
at  the  sunken  orbits  of  his  eyes  and  hectic 
on  his  cheek,  and  shuddered. 

Why  was  this  added  to  the  agony  she  al 
ready  suffered  ?  She  had  been  willing  to 
stand  between  them  with  her  life,  her  liberty, 
and  even  —  the  hot  blood  dyed  her  cheek  at 
the  thought  —  with  the  added  shame  of  being 
thought  the  cast-off  mistress  of  that  man's 
son.  Yet  all  this  she  had  taken  upon  her 
self  in  expiation  of  something  —  she  knew 
not  clearly  what ;  no,  for  nothing  —  only  for 
Mm.  And  yet  this  very  situation  offered  her 
that  gleam  of  hope  which  had  thrilled  her  ; 
a  hope  so  wild  in  its  improbability,  so  de- 


IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  191 

grading  in  its  possibility,  that  at  first  she 
knew  not  whether  despair  was  not  preferable 
to  its  shame.  And  yet  was  it  unreasonable  ? 
She  was  no  longer  passionate ;  she  would  be 
calm  and  think  it  out  fairly. 

She  would  go  to  Low  at  once.  She  would 
find  him  somewhere  —  and  even  if  with  that 
girl,  what  mattered  ?  —  and  she  would  tell  him 
all.  When  he  knew  that  the  life  and  death 
of  his  father  lay  in  the  scale,  would  he  let 
his  brief,  foolish  passion  for  Nellie  stand  in 
the  way  ?  Even  if  he  were  not  influenced  by 
filial  affection  or  mere  compassion,  would  his 
pride  let  him  stoop  to  a  rivalry  with  the  man 
who  had  deserted  his  youth  ?  Could  he  take 
Dunn's  promised  bride,  who  must  have  co 
quetted  with  him  to  have  brought  him  to  this 
miserable  plight?  Was  this  like  the  calm, 
proud  young  god  she  knew  ?  Yet  she  had  an 
uneasy  instinct  that  calm,  proud  young  gods 
and  goddesses  did  things  like  this,  and  felt 
the  weakness  of  her  reasoning  flush  her  own 
conscious  cheek. 


192  IN  THE   CARQ.UIXEZ,    \YOOl>*. 

"Teresa!" 

She  started.  Dunn  was  awake,  and  was 
gazing  at  her  curiously. 

"  I  was  reckoning  it  was  the  only  square 
thing  for  Low  to  stop  this  promiscuous  pic 
nicking  here  and  marry  you  out  and  out." 

"  Marry  me  I  "  said  Teresa  in  a  voice  that, 
with  all  her  efforts,  she  could  not  make 
cynical. 

"  Yes,"  he  repeated,  "  after  I  've  married 
Nellie  ;  tote  you  down  to  San  Angeles,  and 
there  take  my  name  like  a  man,  and  give  it 
to  you.  Nobody  '11  ask  after  T<  r<  *<i.  sure — 
you  bet  your  life.  And  if  they  do,  and  he 
can't  stop  their  jaw,  just  you  call  on  the  old 
man.  It  \s  mighty  queer,  ain't  it,  Teresa, 
to  think  of  you  being  my  daughter-in-law  ?  M 

It  seemed  here  as  if  lie  was  about  to  lapse 
again  into  unconsciousness  over  the  purely 
ludicrous  aspect  of  the  subject,  but  he  haply 
recovered  his  seriousness.  kklle'll  have  as 
much  money  from  me  as  lie  wants  to  go  into 
business  with.  AY  hat 's  his  line  of  business, 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  193 

Teresa  ?  "  asked  this  prospective  father-in- 
law,  in  a  large,  liberal  way. 

"  He  is  a  botanist !  "  said  Teresa,  with  a 
sudden  childish  animation  that  seemed  to 
keep  up  the  grim  humor  of  the  paternal  sug 
gestion  ;  "  and  oh,  he  is  too  poor  to  buy 
books  !  I  sent  for  one  or  two  for  him  myself, 
the  other  day  "  —  she  hesitated  —  "  it  was 
all  the  money  I  had,  but  it  was  n't  enough 
for  him  to  go  on  with  his  studies." 

Dunn  looked  at  her  sparkling  eyes  and 
glowing  cheeks,  and  became  thoughtful. 

"  Curson  must  have  been  a  d d  fool,"  he 

said  finally. 

Teresa  remained  silent.  She  was  begin 
ning  to  be  impatient  and  uneasy,  fearing 
some  mischance  that  might  delay  her  dreaded, 
yet  longed-for  meeting  with  Low.  Yet  she 
could  not  leave  this  sick  and  exhausted  man, 
his  father,  now  bound  to  her  by  more  than 
mere  humanity. 

"  Could  n't  you  manage,"  she  said  gently, 
"  to  lean  on  me  a  few  steps  further,  until  I 

13 


194  IN  THE  CARQU1NEZ   WOODS. 

could  bring  you  to  a  cooler  spot  and  nearer 
assistance  ?  " 

He  nodded.  She  lifted  him  almost  like  a 
child  to  his  feet.  A  spasm  of  pain  passed 
over  his  face.  "  How  far  is  it  ? ''  he  asked. 

"Not  more  than  ten  minutes,"  she  replied. 

"I  can  make  a  spurt  for  that  time/'  he 
said  coolly,  and  began  to  walk  slowly  hut 
steadily  on.  Only  his  face,  which  was  white 
and  set,  and  the  convulsive  grip  of  his  hand 
on  her  arm  betrayed  the  effort.  At  the  end 
of  ten  minutes  she  stopped.  They  stood  be 
fore  the  splintered,  lightning-scarred  shaft 
in  the  opening  of  the  woods,  where  Low 
had  built  her  first  camp-fire.  She  carefully 
picked  up  the  herbarium,  but  her  quick  eve 
had  already  detected  in  the  distance,  before 
she  had  allowed  Dunn  to  enter  the  Opening 
with  her.  that  her  note  was  gone.  Low  had 
been  there  before  them  :  lie  had  been  warned, 
as  his  absence  from  the  cabin  showed  ;  he 
would  not  return  there.  They  were  free 
from  interruption  —  but  where  had  he  gone  ? 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  195 

The  sick  man  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief 
as  she  seated  him  in  the  clover-grown  hollow 
where  she  had  slept  the  second  night  of  her 
stay.  "  It 's  cooler  than  those  cursed  woods," 
he  said.  "  I  suppose  it 's  because  it 's  a  lit 
tle  like  a  grave.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
now  ?  "  he  added,  as  she  brought  a  cup  of 
water  and  placed  it  at  his  side. 

"  I  am  going  to  leave  you  here  for  a  little 
while,"  she  said  cheerfully,  but  with  a  pale 
face  and  nervous  hands.  "  I  'm  going  to 
leave  you  while  I  seek  Low." 

The  sick  man  raised  his  head.  "  I  'ra 
good  for  a  spurt,  Teresa,  like  that  I've  just 
got  through,  but  I  don't  think  I  'm  up  to  a 
family  party.  Couldn't  you  issue  cards 
later  on?" 

"  You  don't  understand,"  she  said.  "  I  'm 
going  to  get  Low  to  send  some  one  of  your 
friends  to  you  here.  I  don't  think  he  '11 
begrudge  leaving  her  a  moment  for  that," 
she  added  to  herself  bitterly. 

"  What 's  that  you  're  saying?  "  he  queried, 
with  the  nervous  quickness  of  an  invalid. 


106        IN  Tin:  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

"  Nothing  —  but  that  I  'm  going  now." 
She  turned  her  face  aside  to  bide  her  mois 
tened  eyes.  "  Wish  me  good  luck,  won't 
you?  "  she  asked,  half  sadly,  half  pettishly. 

"  Come  here !  " 

She  came  and  bent  over  him.  lie  sud 
denly  raised  his  hands,  and,  drawing  her  face 
down  to  his  own,  kissed  her  forehead. 

"  Give  that  to  Jtim"  he  whispered,  "  from 
me." 

She  turned  and  fled,  happily  for  her  sen 
timent,  not  hearing  the  feeble  laugh  that  fol 
lowed,  as  Dunn,  in  sheer  imbecility,  again 
referred  to  the  extravagant  bulicrousness  of 
the  situation.  "  It  is  about  the  biggest  thing 
in  the  way  of  a  sell  all  round,"  he  repeated, 
lying  on  his  back,  confidentially  to  the  speck 
of  smoke-obscured  sky  above  him.  lie  pic 
tured  himself  repeating  it.  not  to  Nellie  — 
her  severe  propriety  might  at  last  overlook 

the  fact,  but  would  not  tolerate  the  joki 

but  to  her  father  !  It  would  be  just  one  of 
those  characteristic  Califoriiiaii  jokes  Father 
Wynn  would  admire. 


IN   THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  197 

To  his  exhaustion  fever  presently  suc 
ceeded,  and  he  began  to  grow  restless.  The 
heat  too  seemed  to  invade  his  retreat,  and 
from  time  to  time  the  little  patch  of  blue 
sky  was  totally  obscured  by  clouds  of  smoke. 
He  amused  himself  with  watching  a  lizard 
who  was  investigating  a  folded  piece  of  pa 
per,  whose  elasticity  gave  the  little  creature 
lively  apprehensions  of  its  vitality.  At  last 
he  could  stand  the  stillness  of  his  retreat  and 
his  supine  position  no  longer,  and  rolled 
himself  out  of  the  bed  of  leaves  that  Teresa 
had  so  carefully  prepared  for  him.  He  rose 
to  his  feet  stiff  and  sore,  and,  supporting 
himself  by  the  nearest  tree,  moved  a  few 
steps  from  the  dead  ashes  of  the  camp  fire. 
The  movement  frightened  the  lizard,  who 
abandoned  the  paper  and  fled.  With  a  satir 
ical  recollection  of  Brace  and  his  "  ridicu 
lous  "  discovery  through  the  medium  of  this 
animal,  he  stooped  and  picked  up  the  paper. 
"Like  as  not,"  he  said  to  himself,  with  grim 
irony,  "  these  yer  lizards  are  in  the  discovery 


198          IN  THE   CARQUIXF.Z    WOODS. 

business.  PYups  this  may  lead  to  another 
mystery,"  and  lie  began  to  unfold  the  paper 
with  a  smile.  But  the  smile  ceased  as  his 
eye  suddenly  caught  his  own  name. 

A  dozen  lines  were  written  in  peneil  on 
what  seemed  to  be  a  blank  leaf  originally 
torn  from  some  book,  lie  trembled  so  that 
he  was  obliged  to  sit  down  to  read  these 
words : — 

"  When  you  get  this  keep  away  from  the 
woods.  Dunn  and  another  man  are  in 
deadly  pursuit  of  you  and  your  companion. 
I  overheard  their  plan  to  surprise  you  in 
our  cabin.  Dont  go  there,  and  I  will  delay 
them  and  put  them  off  the  scent.  Don't 
mind  me.  God  bless  you,  and  if  you  never 
see  me  again  think  sometimes  of 

"  TKKKSA." 

His  trembling  ceased  ;  he  did  not  start. 
but  rose  in  an  abstracted  way,  and  made  a 
few  deliberate  steps  in  the  direction  T 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  199 

had  gone.  Even  then  he  was  so  confused 
that  he  was  obliged  to  refer  to  the  paper 
again,  but  with  so  little  effect  that  he  could 
only  repeat  the  last  words,  "  think  some 
times  of  Teresa."  'He  was  conscious  that 
this  was  not  all ;  he  had  a  full  conviction 
of  being  deceived,  and  knew  that  he  held 
the  proof  in  his  hand,  but  he  could  not  for 
mulate  it  beyond  that  sentence.  "  Teresa  " 
—  yes,  he  would  think  of  her.  She  would 
explain  it.  And  here  she  was  returning. 

In  that  brief  interval  her  face  and  man 
ner  had  again  changed.  She  was  pale  and 
quite  breathless.  She  cast  a  swift  glance  at 
Dunn  and  the  paper  he  mechanically  held 
out,  walked  up  to  him,  and  tore  it  from  his 
hand. 

"  Well,"  she  said  hoarsely,  "  what  are  you 
going  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

He  attempted  to  speak,  but  his  voice 
failed  him.  Even  then  he  was  conscious 
that  if  he  had  spoken  he  would  have  only 
repeated,  "  think  sometimes  of  Teresa."  He 


200        JN  Tin:  r J/W/AY./T 

looked  longingly  but  helplessly  at  the  spot 
where  she  had  thrown  the  paper,  as  if  it  had 
contained  his  unuttered  words. 

"  Yes,"  she  went  on  to  herself,  as  if  he 
was  a  mute,  indifferent  spectator — "yes, 
they're  gone.  That  ends  it  all.  The  game  "s 
played  out.  Well !  "  suddenly  turning  upon 
him,  "  now  you  know  it  all.  Your  ^Nellie  //v/x 
here  with  him,  and  is  with  him  now.  Do 
you  hear?  Make  the  most  of  it;  you've 
lost  them  —  but  here  I  am." 

"  Yes,"  he  said  eagerly  —  "  yes,  Teresa." 
She  stopped,  stared  at  him;  then  taking 
him  by  the  hand  led  him  like  a  child  back 
to  his  couch.  "  Well,"  she  said,  in  half- 
savage  explanation,  "  I  told  you  the  truth 
when  I  said  the  girl  was  n't  at  the  cabin  last 
night,  and  that  I  did  n't  know  her.  What 
are  you  glowerin"  at?  No!  I  have  n't  lied 
to  you,  I  swear  to  God,  except  in  one  thing. 
Do  you  know  what  that  was  ?  To  save  him 
I  took  upon  me  a  shame  I  don't  deserve. 
I  let  you  think  I  was  his  mistress.  You 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  201 

think  so  now,  don't  you  ?  Well,  before  God 
to-day  —  and  He  may  take  me  when  He 
likes  —  I  'm  no  more  to  him  than  a  sister ! 
I  reckon  your  Nellie  can't  say  as  much." 

She  turned  away,  and  with  the  quick,  im 
patient  stride  of  some  caged  animal  made 
the  narrow  circuit  of  the  opening,  stopping 
a  moment  mechanically  before  the  sick  man, 
and  again,  without  looking  at  him,  continu 
ing  her  monotonous  round.  The  heat  had 
become  excessive,  but  she  held  her  shawl 
with  both  hands  drawn  tightly  over  her 
shoulders.  Suddenly  a  wood-duck  darted 
out  of  the  covert  blindly  into  the  opening, 
struck  against  the  blasted  trunk,  fell  half 
stunned  near  her  feet,  and  then,  recovering, 
fluttered  away.  She  had  scarcely  completed 
another  circuit  before  the  irruption  was  fol 
lowed  by  a  whirring  bevy  of  quail,  a  flight 
of  jays,  and  a  sudden  tumult  of  wings  swept 
through  the  wood  like  a  tornado.  She 
turned  inquiringly  to  Dunn,  who  had  risen 
to  his  feet,  but  the  next  moment  she  caught 


202  IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

convulsively  at  his  wrist;  a  wolf  had  just 
dashed  through  the  underbrush  not  a  dozen 
yards  away,  and  on  either  side  of  them  they 
could  hear  the  scamper  and  rustle  of  hur 
rying  feet  like  the  outburst  of  a  summer 
shower.  A  cold  wind  arose  from  the  oppo 
site  direction,  as  if  to  contest  this  wild  exo 
dus,  but  it  was  followed  by  a  blast  of  sicken 
ing  heat.  Teresa  sank  at  Dunn's  feet  in 

O 

an  agony  of  terror. 

"  Don't  let  them  touch  me  !  "  she  gasped  ; 
"  keep  them  off !  Tell  me,  for  God's  sake, 
what  has  happened  !  " 

He  laid  his  hand  firmly  on  her  arm,  and 
lifted  her  in  his  turn  to  her  feet  like  a  child. 
In  that  supreme  moment  of  physical  danger, 
his  strength,  reason,  and  manhood  returned 
in  their  plenitude  of  power.  He  pointed 
coolly  to  the  trail  she  had  quitted,  and  said, 

"  The  Carquinez  Woods  are  on  fire  I  " 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  nest  of  the  tuneful  Burnhams,  al 
though  in  the  suburbs  of  Indian  Spring, 
was  not  in  ordinary  weather  and  seasons 
hidden  from  the  longing  eyes  of  the  youth 
of  that  settlement.  That  night,  however,  it 
was  veiled  in  the  smoke  that  encompassed 
the  great  highway  leading  to  Excelsior.  It 
is  presumed  that  the  Burnham  brood  had 
long  since  folded  their  wings,  for  there  was 
no  sign  of  life  nor  movement  in  the  house  as 
a  rapidly-driven  horse  and  buggy  pulled  up 
before  it.  Fortunately,  the  paternal  Burn- 
ham  was  an  early  bird,  in  the  habit  of 
picking  up  the  first  stirring  mining  worm, 
and  a  resounding  knock  brought  him  half 
dressed  to  the  street  door.  He  was  startled 
at  seeing  Father  Wynn  before  him,  a  trifle 
flushed  and  abstracted. 


204  IN  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS. 

"  Ah  ha !  up  betimes,  I  see,  and  ready. 
No  sluggards  here  —  ha,  ha  !  "  he  said  heart 
ily,  slamming  the  door  behind  him,  and  by  a 
series  of  pokes  in  the  ribs  genially  backing 
his  host  into  his  own  sitting-room.  "  I  'm 
up,  too,  and  am  here  to  see  Nellie.  She 's 
here,  eh  —  of  course  ?  "  he  added,  darting  a 
quick  look  at  Burnham. 

But  Mr.  Burnham  was  one  of  those  large, 
liberal  Western  husbands  who  classified  his 
household  under  the  general  title  of  k*  woman 
folk,"  for  the  integers  of  which  he  was  not 
responsible.  He  hesitated,  and  then  pro 
pounded  over  the  balusters  to  the  upper  story 
the  direct  query  — 

"  You  don't  happen  to  have  Nellie  "\Vynn 
up  there,  do  ye  ?  " 

There  was  an  interval  of  inquiry  proceed 
ing  from  half  a  dozen  reluctant  throats,  more 
or  less  cottony  and  muffled,  in  those  various 
degrees  of  grievance  and  mental  distress 
which  indicate  too  earlv  roused  voting  woman 
hood.  The  eventual  reply  seemed  to  be  af- 


IN   THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  205 

firmative,  albeit  accompanied  with  a  sup 
pressed  giggle,  as  if  the  young  lady  had  just 
been  discovered  as  an  answer  to  an  amusing 
conundrum. 

"  All  right,"  said  Wynn,  with  an  apparent 
accession  of  boisterous  geniality.  "  Tell  her 
I  must  see  her,  and  I  've  only  got  a  few  min 
utes  to  spare.  Tell  her  to  slip  on  anything 
and  come  down  ;  there  's  no  one  here  but  my 
self,  and  I  've  shut  the  front  door  on  Brother 
Burnham.  Ha,  ha!  "  and  suiting  the  action 
to  the  word,  he  actually  bundled  the  admir 
ing  Brother  Burnham  out  on  his  own  door 
step.  There  was  a  light  pattering  on  the 
staircase,  and  Nellie  Wynn,  pink  with  sleep, 
very  tall,  very  slim,  hastily  draped  in  a  white 
counterpane  with  a  blue  border  and  a  general 
classic  suggestion,  slipped  into  the  parlor. 
At  the  same  moment  her  father  shut  the  door 
behind  her,  placed  one  hand  on  the  knob, 
and  with  the  other  seized  her  wrist. 

"  Where  were  you  yesterday  ?  "  he  asked. 

Nellie  looked  at  him,  shrugged  her  shoul 
ders,  and  said,  "  Here." 


206  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

"  You  were  in  the  Carquinez  Woods  with 
Low  Dorman ;  you  went  there  in  disguise  ; 
you've  met  him  there  before.  He  is  your 
clandestine  lover ;  you  have  taken  pledges  of 
affection  from  him  ;  you  have  " — 

"  Stop  !  "  she  said. 

He  stopped.  . 

"  Did  he  tell  you  this  ?  "  she  asked,  with 
an  expression  of  disdain. 

"No;  I  overheard  it.  Dunn  and  Brace 
were  at  the  house  waiting  for  you.  AY  hen 
the  coach  did  not  bring  you,  I  went  to  the 
office  to  inquire.  As  I  left  our  door  I  thought 
1  saw  somebody  listening  at  the  parlor  win 
dows.  It  was  only  a  drunken  Mexican  mule 
teer  leaning  against  the  house :  but  if  lie 
heard  nothing,  /did.  Nellie,  I  heard  Hi-are 
tell  Dunn  that  he  had  tracked  yon  in  your 
disguise  to  the  woods — do  you  hear?  that 
when  you  pretended  to  be  here  with  the  giils 
you  were  with  Low  —  alone  ;  that  you  wear 
a  ring  that  Low  got  of  a  trader  here  :  that 
there  was  a  cabin  in  the  woods  " — 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  207 

"  Stop  !  "  she  repeated. 

Wynn  again  paused. 

"And  what  did  you  do  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  heard  they  were  starting  down  there 
to  surprise  you  and  him  together,  and  I  har 
nessed  up  and  got  ahead  of  them  in  my 


"  And  found  me  here,"  she  said,  looking 
full  into  his  eyes. 

He  understood  her  and  returned  the  look. 
He  recognized  the  full  importance  of  the  cul 
minating  fact  conveyed  in  her  words,  and 
was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  its  logic 
al  and  worldly  significance.  It  was  too  late 
now  to  take  her  to  task  for  mere  filial  diso 
bedience  ;  they  must  become  allies. 

"  Yes,"  he  said  hurriedly  ;  "  but  if  you 
value  your  reputation,  if  you  wish  to  silence 
both  these  men,  answer  me  fully." 

"  Go  on,"  she  said. 

"  Did  you  go  to  the  cabin  in  the  woods 
yesterday  ?  " 

"No." 


208  IN  THE   CARQUINKZ    WOODS. 

"  Did  you  ever  go  there  with  Low  ?  " 
"  No  ;  I  do  not  know  even  where  it  is." 
AVynn  felt  that  she  was  telling  the  truth. 

Nellie  knew  it ;  but  as  she  would  have  been 

equally  satisfied  with  an  equally  efficacious 

falsehood,  her  face  remained  unchanged. 
"  And  when  did  he  leave  you  ?  " 
"  At  nine  o'clock,  here.     He  went  to  the 

hotel." 

"  He  saved  his  life,  then,  for  Dunn  is  on 

his  way  to  the  woods  to  kill  him." 

The  jeopardy  of  her  lover  did  not  seem  to 

affect  the  young  girl  witli  alarm,  although 

her  eyes  betrayed  some  interest. 

"  Then  Dunn  has  gone   to   the  woods  ?  " 

she  said  thoughtfully. 

"  He  has,"  replied  Wynn. 
uls  that  all?"  she  asked. 
"  I  want  to  know  what  you  are  going  to 

do?" 

"I  was  going  back  to  bed." 

"This  is  no  time  for  trilling,  girl." 

"I  should    think    not."    she    said,    with  a 

yawn  ;  fck  it  \s  too  early,  or  too  late." 


IN  THE  CARQ.U1NEZ    WOODS.  209 

Wynn  grasped  her  wrist  more  tightly. 
"  Hear  me  !  Put  whatever  face  you  like  on 
this  affair,  you  are  compromised  —  and  com 
promised  with  a  man  you  can't  marry." 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  wanted  to  marry 
Low,  if  you  mean  him,"  she  said  quietly. 

"  And  Dunn  would  n't  marry  you  now." 

"  I  'm  not  so  sure  of  that,  either." 

"  Nellie,"  said  Wynn  excitedly,  "  do  you 
want  to  drive  me  mad  ?  Have  you  nothing 
to  say  —  nothing  to  suggest  ?  " 

"  Oh,  you  want  me  to  help  you,  do  you  ? 
Why  did  n't  you  say  that  first  ?  Well,  go 
and  bring  Dunn  here." 

"  Are  you  mad  ?  The  man  has  gone  al 
ready  in  pursuit  of  your  lover,  believing  you 
with  him.'* 

"  Then  he  will  the  more  readily  come  and 
talk  with  me  without  him.  Will  you  take 
the  invitation  —  yes  or  no  ?  " 

"Yes,  but"— 

"  Enough.  On  your  way  there  you  will 
stop  at  the  hotel  and  give  Low  a  letter  from 


14 


210  AV  77//;   CARQ.U1NEZ  WOODS. 

"  Nellie ! " 

"You  shall  read  it,  of  course,"  slie  said 
scornfully,  "  for  it  will  be  your  text  for  the 
conversation  you  will  have  with  him.  Will 
you  please  take  your  hand  from  the  lock  and 
open  the  door  ?  " 

Wynn  mechanically  opened  the  door.  The 
young  girl  flew  up-stairs.  In  a  very  few  mo 
ments  she  returned  with  two  notes  :  one  con 
tained  a  few  lines  of  formal  invitation  to 
Dunn ;  the  other  read  as  follows  :  — 

"  DEAR  MR.  DORMAN,  —  My  father  will 
tell  you  how  deeply  I  regret  that  our  recent 
botanical  excursions  in  the  Carqtiinez  Woods 
have  been  a  source  of  serious  misapprehen 
sions  to  those  who  had  a  claim  to  my  consid 
eration,  and  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  dis 
continue  them  for  the  future.  At  the  same 
time  he  wishes  me  to  express  my  gratitude 
for  your  valuable  instruction  and  assistance 
in  that  pleasing  study,  even  though  approach 
ing  events  may  compel  me  to  relinquish  it 


/iV  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  211 

for  other  duties.  May  I  beg  you  to  accept 
the  inclosed  ring  as  a  slight  recognition  of 
my  obligations  to  you  ? 

"  Your  grateful  pupil, 

"NELLIE  WYNN." 

When  he  had  finished  reading  the  letter, 
she  handed  him  a  ring,  which  he  took  me 
chanically.  He  raised  his  eyes  to  hers  with 
perfectly  genuine  admiration.  "  You  're  a 
good  girl,  Nellie,"  he  said,  and,  in  a  moment 
of  parental  forgetfulness,  unconsciously  ad 
vanced  his  lips  towards  her  cheek.  But  she 
drew  back  in  time  to  recall  him  to  a  sense 
of  that  human  weakness. 

"  I  suppose  I  '11  have  time  for  a  nap  yet," 
she  said,  as  a  gentle  hint  to  her  embarrassed 
parent.  He  nodded  and  turned  towards  the 
door. 

"If  I  were  you,"  she  continued,  repress 
ing  a  yawn,  "  I  'c!  manage  to  be  seen  oh  good 
terms  with  Low  at  the  hotel ;  so  perhaps  you 
need  not  give  the  letter  to  him  until  the  last 
thing.  Good-by." 


212  AV  THE   CARQ.U1NKZ    WOODS. 

The  sitting-room  door  opened  and  closed 
behind  her  as  she  slipped  up-stairs,  and  her 
father,  without  the  formality  of  leave-tak 
ing,  quietly  let  himself  out  by  the  front 
door. 

When  he  drove  into  the  high  road  again, 
however,  an  overlooked  possibility  threat 
ened  for  a  moment  to  indefinitely  postpone 
his  amiable  intentions  regarding  Low.  The 
hotel  was  at  the  further  end  of  the  settle 
ment  towards  the  Carquinez  Woods,  and  as 
Wynn  had  nearly  reached  it  he  was  re 
called  to  himself  by  the  sounds  of  hoofs 
and  wheels  rapidly  approaching  from  the  di 
rection  of  the  Excelsior  turnpike.  TVynn 
made  no  doubt  it  was  the  sheriff  and  l>race. 
To  avoid  recognition  at  that  moment,  he 
whipped  up  his  horse,  intending  to  keep  the 
lead  until  he  could  turn  into  the  first  cross 
road.  But  the  coming  travelers  had  the 
fleetest  horse,  and  finding  it  impossible  to 
distance  them  he  drove  close  to  the  ditch, 
pulling  up  suddenly  as  the  strange  vehicle 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  213 

was  abreast  of  him,  and  forcing  them  to  pass 
him  at  full  speed,  with  the  result  already 
chronicled.  When  they  had  vanished  in  the 
darkness,  Mr.  Wynn,  with  a  heart  overflow 
ing  with  Christian  thankfulness  and  univer 
sal  benevolence,  wheeled  round,  and  drove 
back  to  the  hotel  he  had  already  passed. 
To  pull  up  at  the  veranda  with  a  stentorian 
shout,  to  thump  loudly  at  the  deserted  bar, 
to  hilariously  beat  the  panels  of  the  land 
lord's  door,  and  commit  a  jocose  assault  and 
battery  upon  that  half-dressed  and  half- 
awakened  man,  was  eminently  characteristic 
of  Wynn,  and  part  of  his  amiable  plans  that 
morning. 

"  Something  to  wash  this  wood  smoke 
from  my  throat,  Brother  Carter,  and  about 
as  much  again  to  prop  open  your  eyes,"  he 
said,  dragging  Carter  before  the  bar,  "  and 
glasses  round  for  as  many  of  the  boys  as  are 
up  and  stirring  after  a  hard-working  Chris 
tian's  rest.  How  goes  the  honest  publican's 
trade,  and  who  have  we  here  ?  " 


214  IN  THE   CARQU1XEZ    WOODS. 

"  Thar 's  Judge  Robinson  and  two  lawyers 
from  Sacramento,  Dick  Curson  over  from 
Yolo,"  said  Carter,  "and  that  ar  young  In- 
jin  yarb  doctor  from  the  Carquinez  AVoods. 
I  reckon  he 's  jist  up  —  I  noticed  a  light  un 
der  his  door  as  I  passed." 

"  lie  's  my  man  for  a  friendly  chat  before 
breakfast,"  said  Wynn.  "You  need  n't 
come  up.  I  '11  find  the  way.  I  don't  want 
a  light ;  I  reckon  my  eyes  ain't  as  bright  nor 
as  young  as  his,  but  they  '11  see  almost  as 
far  in  the  dark  —  he!  lie!'  And,  noddinir 

O 

to  Brother  Carter,  he  strode  along  the  pas 
sage,  and  with  no  other  introduction  than  a 
playful  and  preliminary  "•  Boo ! ''  burst  into 
one  of  the  rooms.  Low,  who  by  the  light  of 
a  single  candle  was  bending  over  the  plates 
of  a  large  quarto,  merely  raised  his  eyes  and 
looked  at  the  intruder.  The  young  man's 
natural  imperturbability,  always  exasperat 
ing  to  Wynn,  seemed  accented  that  morn 
ing  by  contrast  with  his  own  over-acted 
animation. 


IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  215 

"Ah  ha!  —  wasting  the  midnight  oil  in 
stead  of  imbibing  the  morning  dews,"  said 
Father  Wynn  archly,  illustrating  his  meta 
phor  with  a  movement  of  his  hand  to  his 
lips.  "  What  have  we  here  ?  " 

"  An  anonymous  gift,"  replied  Low  sim 
ply,  recognizing  the  father  of  Nellie  by  ris 
ing  from  his  chair.  "  It 's  a  volume  I  've 
longed  to  possess,  but  never  could  afford  to 
buy.  I  cannot  imagine  who  sent  it  to 
me." 

Wynn  was  for  a  moment  startled  by  the 
thought  that  this  recipient  of  valuable  gifts 
might  have  influential  friends.  But  a  glance 
at  the  bare  room,  which  looked  like  a  camp, 
and  the  strange,  unconventional  garb  of  its 
occupant,  restored  his  former  convictions. 
There  might  be  a  promise  of  intelligence, 
but  scarcely  of  prosperity,  in  the  figure  be 
fore  him. 

"  Ah !  We  must  not  forget  that  we  are 
watched  over  in  the  night  season,"  he  said, 
laying  his  hand  on  Low's  shoulder,  with  an 


216  IN  THE  CARQ.UINEZ   WOODS. 

illustration  of  celestial  guardianship  that 
would  have  been  impious  but  for  its  palpa 
ble  gTotesqueness.  lk  No,  sir,  we  know  not 
what  a  day  may  bring-  forth." 

Unfortunately,  Low's  practical  mind  did 
not  go  beyond  a  mere  human  interpretation. 
It  was  enough,  however,  to  put  a  new  light 
in  his  eye  and  a  faint  color  in  his  cheek. 

"Could  it  have  been  Miss  Nellie?"  he 
asked,  with  half -boyish  hesitation. 

Mr.  Wynn  was  too  much  of  a  Christian 
not  to  bow  before  what  appeared  to  him  the 
purely  providential  interposition  of  this  sug 
gestion.  Seizing  it  and  Low  at  the  same 
moment,  he  playfully  forced  him  down  again 
in  his  chair. 

"  Ah,  you  rascal !  "  he  said,  with  infinite 
archness  ;  "  that 's  your  game,  is  it  ?  You 
want  to  trap  poor  Father  Wynn.  You  want 
to  make  him  say  "No.'  You  want  to  tempt 
him  to  commit  himself.  No,  sir!  —  never, 
sir  !  —  no,  no !  " 

Firmly  convinced   that   the   present  was 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  21 7 

Nellie's,  and  that  her  father  only  good-hu- 
moredly  guessed  it,  the  young  man's  sim 
ple,  truthful  nature  was  embarrassed.  He 
longed  to  express  his  gratitude,  but  feared 
to  betray  the  young  girl's  trust.  The  Rever 
end  Mr.  Wynn  speedily  relieved  his  mind. 

"No,"  he  continued,  bestriding  a  chair, 
and  familiarly  confronting  Low  over  its 
back.  "  No,  sir  — no  !  And  you  want  me 
to  say  '  No,'  don't  you,  regarding  the  little 
walks  of  Nellie  and  a  certain  young  man  in 
the  Carquinez  Woods?  —  ha,  ha!  You'd 
like  me  to  say  that  I  knew  nothing  of  the 
botanizings,  and  the  herb  collectings,  and  the 
picnickings  there  —  he,  he! — you  sly  dog! 
Perhaps  you  'd  like  to  tempt  Father  Wynn 
further,  and  make  him  swear  he  knows  noth 
ing  of  his  daughter  disguising  herself  in  a 
duster  and  meeting  another  young  man  — 
is  n't  it  another  young  man  ?  —  all  alone,  eh  ? 
Perhaps  you  want  poor  old  Father  Wynn 
to  say  No.  No,  sir,  nothing  of  the  kind 
ever  occurred.  Ah,  you  young  rascal !  " 


218  IN  THE   CAKQr/xrz   WOODS. 


Slightly  troubled,  in  spite  of  Wynn's 
heartv  manner,  Low,  with  his  usual  direct- 
liowcvcr,  said,  *"  1  do  not  want  any  one 
to  deny  that  I  have  seen  Miss  Nellie." 

"Certainly,  certainly,"  said  AVynn,  aban 
doning  his  method,  considerably  disconcerted 
by  Low's  simplicity,  and  a  certain  natural 
reserve  that  shook  off  his  familiarity.  "Cer 
tainly  it  's  a  noble  thing  to  be  able  to  put 
your  hand  on  your  heart  and  say  to  the 
world,  'Come  on,  all  of  you!  Observe  me; 
I  have  nothing  to  conceal.  I  walk  with 
Miss  Wynn  in  the  woods  as  her  instructor 
—  her  teacher,  in  fact.  We  cull  a  flower 
here  and  there  ;  we  pluck  an  herb  fresh  from 
the  hands  of  the  Creator.  We  look,  so  to 
speak,  from  Nature  to  Nature's  (iod.'  ^  es, 
my  young  friend,  we  should  be  the  first  to 
repel  the  foul  calumny  that  could  misinter 
pret  our  most  innocent  actions." 

"  Calumny  ?  "  repeated  Low,  starting  to 
his  feet.  "  What  calumny  ?  " 

"My  friend,  my  noble   young  friend,   I 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  219 

recognize  your  indignation.  I  know  your 
worth.  When  I  said  to  Nellie,  my  only 
child,  my  perhaps  too  simple  offspring  —  a 
mere  wildflower  like  yourself  —  when  I  said 
to  her,  '  Go,  my  child,  walk  in  the  woods 
with  this  young  man,  hand  in  hand.  Let 
him  instruct  you  from  the  humblest  roots, 
for  he  has  trodden  in  the  ways  of  the  Al 
mighty.  Gather  wisdom  from  his  lips,  and 
knowledge  from  his  simple  woodman's  craft. 
Make,  in  fact,  a  collection  not  only  of  herbs, 
but  of  moral  axioms  and  experience,'  —  I 
knew  I  could  trust  you,  and,  trusting  you, 
my  young  friend,  I  felt  I  could  trust  the 
world.  Perhaps  I  was  weak,  foolish.  But 
I  thought  only  of  her  welfare.  I  even  recall 
how  that,  to  preserve  the  purity  of  her  gar 
ments,  I  bade  her  don  a  simple  duster ;  that, 
to  secure  her  from  the  trifling  companion 
ship  of  others,  I  bade  her  keep  her  own 
counsel,  and  seek  you  at  seasons  known  but 
to  yourselves." 

"  But  .   .   .  did    Nellie  .   .  .  understand 
you  ?  "  interrupted  Low  hastily. 


220         IN  TIIK  <'Ai:<inxi-:z 

"I  see  you  read  her  simple  nature.  Un 
derstand  me  ?  No,  not  at  first !  Her  maid 
enly  instinct  —  perhaps  her  duty  to  another 
—  took  the  alarm.  I  remember  her  words. 
4  But  what  will  Dunn  say  ? '  she  asked. 
'  Will  he  not  be  jealous? '" 

"Dunn!  jealous!  I  don't  understand," 
said  Low,  fixing  his  eyes  on  Wynn. 

"  That 's  just  what  I  said  to  Nellie.  'Jeal 
ous  ! '  I  said.  4  What,  Dunn,  your  affianced 
husband,  jealous  of  a  mere  friend — a  teach 
er,  a  guide,  a  philosopher.  It  is  impossible.' 
Well,  sir,  she  was  right.  He  is  jealous. 
And,  more  than  that,  he  lias  imparted  his 
jealousy  to  others  !  In  other  words,  he  has 
made  a  scandal !  " 

Low's  eyes  flashed.  "  Where  is  your 
daughter  now  ?  v  he  said  sternly. 

"  At  present  in  bed,  suffering  from  a  ner 
vous  attack  brought  on  by  these  unjust  sus 
picions.  She  appreciates  your  anxiety,  and, 
knowing  that  you  could  not  see  her,  told  me 
to  give  you  this."  lie  handed  Low  the  ring 
and  the  letter. 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  221 

The  climax  had  been  forced,  and,  it  must 
be  confessed,  was  by  no  means  the  one  Mr 
Wynii  had  fully  arranged  in  his  own  inner 
consciousness.  He  had  intended  to  take 
an  ostentatious  leave  of  Low  in  the  bar 
room,  deliver  the  letter  with  archness,  and 
escape  before  a  possible  explosion.  He  con 
sequently  backed  towards  the  door  for  an 
emergency.  But  he  was  again  at  fault. 
That  unaffected  stoical  fortitude  in  acute 
suffering,  which  was  the  one  remaining  pride 
and  glory  of  Low's  race,  was  yet  to  be  re 
vealed  to  Wynn's  civilized  eyes. 

The  young  man  took  the  letter,  and  read 
it  without  changing  a  muscle,  folded  the 
ring  in  it,  and  dropped  it  into  his  haversack. 
Then  he  picked  up  his  blanket,  threw  it 
over  his  shoulder,  took  his  trusty  rifle  in 
his  hand,  and  turned  towards  Wynn  as  if 
coldly  surprised  that ,  he  was  still  standing 
there. 

"  Are  you  —  are  you  —  going  ?  "  stam 
mered  Wyiin. 


222        IN  THE  CAimi'ixi-:z  WOODS. 

"  Are  you  not  ?  "  replied  Low  dryly,  lean 
ing  on  his  rifle  for  a  moment  as  if  waiting 
for  Wynn  to  precede  him.  The  preacher 
looked  at  him  a  moment,  mumbled  some 
thing',  and  then  shambled  feebly  and  in 
effectively  down  the  staircase  before  Low, 
with  a  painful  suggestion  to  the  ordinary 
observer  of  being  occasionally  urged  thereto 
by  the  moccasin  of  the  young  man  behind 
him. 

On  reaching  the  lower  hall,  however,  he 
endeavored  to  create  a  diversion  in  his  favor 
by  dashing  into  the  bar-room  and  clapping 
the  occupants  on  the  back  with  indiscrimi 
nate  playfulness.  But  here  again  he  seemed 
to  be  disappointed*  To  his  great  discom 
fiture,  a  large  man  not  only  returned  his 
salutation  with  powerful  levity,  but  with 
equal  playfulness  seized  him  in  his  arms, 
and  after  an  ingenious  simulation  of  de 
positing  him  in  the  horse-trough  set  him 
down  in  affected  amazement.  "  Iiletlft  if 
1  did  n't  think  from  the  weight  of  your  hand 


IN  THE   CARQUINEZ   WOODS.  223 

it  wath  my  old  friend,  Thacramento  Bill," 
said  Curson  apologetically,  with  a  wink  at 
the  bystanders.  "  That  'th  the  way  Bill  al- 
wayth  uthed  to  tackle  hith  friendth,  till  he 
wath  one  day  bounthed  by  a  prithe-fighter 
in  Frithco,  whom  he  had  mithtaken  for  a 
mithionary."  As  Mr.  Curson' s  reputation 
was  of  a  quality  that  made  any  form  of 
apology  from  him  instantly  acceptable,  the 
amused  spectators  made  way  for  him  as, 
recognizing  Low,  who  was  just  leaving  the 
hotel,  he  turned  coolly  from  them  and  walked 
towards  him. 

"  Halloo  !  "  he  said,  extending  his  hand. 
"  You  're  the  man  I  'm  waiting  for.  Did 
you  get  a  book  from  the  exthpreth  offithe 
latht  night  ?  " 

"I  did.     Why?" 

"  It  'th  all  right.  Ath  I  'm  rethponthible 
for  it,  I  only  wanted  to  know." 

"  Did  you  send  it  ?  "  asked  Low,  quickly 
fixing  his  eyes  on  his  face. 

"  Well,  not   exactly  me.      But   it  'th  not 


224  IN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS. 

worth  making  a  mythtery  of  it.  Teretlia 
gave  me  a  commithion  to  buy  it  and  theiul  it 
to  you  anonyinouthly.  That  'th  a  wonian'th 
nonthenth,  for  how  could  thee  get  a  retheipt 
for  it?" 

"  Then  it  was  her  present,"  said  Low 
gloomily. 

"  Of  courthe.  It  wath  n't  mine,  my  boy. 
I'd  have  thcnt  you  a  Tharp'th  rifle  in  plathe 
of  that  mutlile  loader  you  carry,  or  thome- 
thing  thenthible.  But,  I  thay  !  what  'th  up  ? 
You  look  ath  if  you  had  been  running  all 
night." 

Low  grasped  his  hand.  "  Thank  you," 
he  said  hurriedly  ;  "  but  it  \s  nothing.  Only 
I  must  be  back  to  the  woods  early.  Good- 

by-" 

But  Curson  retained  Low's  hand  in  his 
own  powerful  grip. 

"  I  '11  go  with  you  a  bit  further,"  he  said. 
"In  fact,  I've  got  thomething  to  thay  to 
you  ;  only  don't  be  in  thuch  a  hurry  ;  the 
woodth  can  wait  till  you  get  there."  Quietly 


IN  THE  CARQUTNEZ   WOODS.  225 

compelling  Low  to  alter  his  own  characteris 
tic  Indian  stride  to  keep  pace  with  his,  he 
went  on :  "I  don't  mind  thaying  I  rather 
cottoned  to  you  from  the  time  you  acted  like 
a  white  man  —  no  offenthe  —  to  Teretha. 
She  thayth  you  were  left  when  a  child  lying 
round,  jutht  ath  promithcuouthly  ath  she 
wath  ;  and  if  I  can  do  anything  towardth  put 
ting  you  on  the  trail  of  your  people,  I  '11  do  it. 
I  know  thome  of  the  voyageurth  who  traded 
with  the  Cherokeeth,  and  your  father  wath 
one  —  wath  n't  he  ?  "  He  glanced  at  Low's 
utterly  abstracted  and  immobile  face.  "  I 
thay,  you  don't  theem  to  take  a  hand  in  thith 
game,  pardner.  What  'th  the  row  ?  Ith  any 
thing  wrong  over  there  ? "  and  he  pointed 
to  the  Carquinez  Woods,  which  were  just 
looming  out  of  the  morning  horizon  in  the 
distance. 

Low  stopped.  The  last  words  of  his  com 
panion  seemed  to  recall  him  to  himself.  He 
raised  his  eyes  automatically  to  the  woods 
and  started. 

15 


226  IN  THE   CARQUIXEX    WOODS. 

"  There  is  something  wrong  over  there," 
he  said  breathlessly.  "  Look  !  " 

"  I  thee  nothing,"  said  Curson.  beginning 
to  doubt  Low's  sanity  ;  "  nothing  more  than 
I  thaw  an  hour  ago." 

44  Look  again.  Don't  you  see  that  smoke 
rising  straight  up?  It  is  n't  blown  over  from 
the  Divide  ;  it  "s  new  smoke  !  The  fire  is  in 
the  woods !  " 

44 1  reckon  that'th  so,"  muttered  Curson, 
shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand.  "  P>ut, 
hullo!  wait  a  minute!  AVe  '11  get  hortheth. 
I  say!"  he  sliouted,  forgetting  his  lisp  in  his 
excitement  —  "stop!"  Hut  Low  had  al 
ready  lowered  his  head  and  darted  forward 
like  an  arrow. 

In  a  few  moments  he  had  left  not  only  his 
c-ompaiiion  but  the  last  straggling  houses  of 
the  outskirts  far  behind  him.  and  had  struck 
out  in  a  long,  swinging  trot  for  the  disused 
"eut-off."  Already  lie  fancied  lie  heard  the 
note  of  clamor  in  Indian  Spring,  and  thought 
he  distinguished  the  sound  of  hurrying  hcofs 


7^V  THE   CARQU1NEZ    WOODS.  227 

on  the  great  highway.  But  the  sunken  trail 
hid  it  from  his  view.  From  the  column  of 
smoke  now  plainly  visible  in  the  growing 
morning  light  he  tried  to  locate  the  scene  of 
the  conflagration.  It  was  evidently  not  a 
fire  advancing  regularly  from  the  outer  skirt 
of  the  wood,  communicated  to  it  from  the 
Divide  ;  it  was  a  local  outburst  near  its  cen 
tre.  It  was  not  in  the  direction  of  his  cabin 
in  the  tree.  There  was  no  immediate  danger 
to  Teresa,  unless  fear  drove  her  beyond  the 
confines  of  the  wood  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  might  recognize  her.  The  screaming  of 
jays  and  ravens  above  his  head  quickened 
his  speed,  as  it  heralded  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  flames ;  and  the  unexpected  appari 
tion  of  a  bounding  body,  flattened  and  flying 
over  the  yellow  plain,  told  him  that  even  the 
secure  retreat  of  the  mountain  wild-cat  had 
been  invaded.  A  sudden  recollection  of 
Teresa's  uncontrollable  terror  that  first  night 
smote  him  with  remorse  and  redoubled  his 
efforts.  Alone  in  the  track  of  these  frantic 


230        IN  Tin:  cAHQr/x/-:z  WOODS. 

The  space  was  lit  up  brilliantly.  The  vast 
shafts  of  dull  copper  east  no  shadow  In-low, 
but  there  was  no  si<m  nor  token  of  any  human 

O  • 

being.  For  a  moment  the  young  man  wa.-  at 
fault.  It  was  true  this  hidden  heart  of  the 
forest  bore  no  undergrowth  :  the  eool  matted 
carpet  of  the  aisles  seemed  to  quench  the  glow 
ing  fragments  as  they  fell.  Escape  might  be 
difficult,  but  not  impossible,  yet  every  mo 
ment  was  precious.  1  Ic  leaned  against  a  tree, 
and  sent  his  voice  like  a  clarion  before  him  : 
"  Teresa  !  "  There  was  no  reply.  I  Ic  called 
again.  A  faint  cry  at  his  back  from  the  trail 
he  had  just  traversed  made  him  turn.  Only 
a  few  paces  behind  him,  blinded  and  stagger 
ing,  but  following  like  a  beaten  and  wounded 
animal.  Teresa  halted,  knelt,  clasped  her 
hands,  and  dumbly  held  them  out  before  her. 
'•  Teresa  !  "  he  cried  again,  and  sprang  to  her 
side. 

She  caught  him  by  the  knees,  and  lifted 
her  face  imploringly  to  his. 

"  Say  that  again  !     she  cried,  passionately. 


IN  THE   CARQUJNEZ  WOODS.  231 

"  Tell  me  it  was  Teresa  you  called,  and  no 
other !  You  have  come  back  for  me  !  You 
would  not  let  me  die  here  alone  !  " 

He  lifted  her  tenderly  in  his  arms,  and 
cast  a  rapid  glance  around  him.  It  might 
have  been  his  fancy,  but  there  seemed  a  dull 
glow  in  the  direction  he  had  come. 

"  You  do  not  speak  !  "  she  said.  "  Tell 
me  !  You  did  not  come  here  to  seek  her?  " 

"  Whom  ?  "    he  said  quickly. 

"  Nellie ! " 

With  a  sharp  cry  he  let  her  slip  to  the 
ground.  All  the  pent-up  agony,  rage,  and 
mortification  of  the  last  hour  broke  from  him 
in  that  inarticulate  outburst.  Then,  catching 
her  hands  again,  he  dragged  her  to  his  level. 

"Hear  me!"  he  cried,  disregarding  the 
whirling  smoke  and  the  fiery  baptism  that 
sprinkled  them  —  "  hear  me  !  If  you  value 
your  life,  if  you  value  your  soul,  and  if  you 
do  not  want  me  to  cast  you  to  the  beasts 
like  Jezebel  of  old,  never  —  never  take  that 
accursed  name  again  upon  your  lips.  Seek 


232         IN  Tin-:  cA/K>r/x/:z  WOODS. 

her —  licr  ?  Yes  !  Seek  her  to  tie  her  like 
a  witeh's  daughter  of  hell  to  that  blazing 
tri-f  !  "  He  stopped.  "  Forgive  me,""  he  said 
in  a  changed  voice.  -  I  "m  mad,  and  forget 
ting-  myself  and  you.  Come." 

Without  noticing  the  expression  of  half- 
savage  delight  that  had  passed  Across  her 
face,  he  lifted  her  in  his  arms. 

"Which  way  are  you  going?"  she  asked, 
passing  her  hands  vaguely  across  his  breast, 
as  if  to  reassure  herself  of  his  identity. 

ki  To  our  camp  by  the  scarred  tree,"  he 
replied. 

"Not  there,  not  there,"  she  said,  hurried 
ly.  "  I  was  driven  from  there  just  now.  I 
thought  the  fire  began  there  until  I  came 
here." 

Then  it  was  as  lie  feared.  Obeying  the 
same  mysterious  law  that  had  launched  this 
fatal  iire  like  a  thunderbolt  from  the  burn 
ing  mountain  crest  five  miles  away  into  the 
heart  of  the  Carquinez  Woods,  it  had  again 
leaped  a  mile  beyond,  and  was  hemming 


IN  THE   C  All  Q.U  INEZ    WOODS.  233 

them  between  two  narrowing  lines  of  fire. 
But  Low  was  not  daunted.  Ketracing  his 
steps  through  the  blinding  smoke,  he  strode 
off  at  right  angles  to  the  trail  near  the  point 
where  he  had  entered  the  wood.  It  was  the 
spot  where  he  had  first  lifted  Nellie  in  his 
arms  to  carry  her  to  the  hidden  spring.  If 
any  recollection  of  it  crossed  his  mind  at 
that  moment,  it  was  only  shown  in  his  re 
doubled  energy.  He  did  not  glide  through 
the  thick  underbrush,  as  on  that  day,  but 
seemed  to  take  a  savage  pleasure  in  breaking 
through  it  with  sheer  brute  force.  Once 
Teresa  insisted  upon  relieving  him  of  the 
burden  of  her  weight,  but  after  a  few  steps 
she  staggered  blindly  against  him,  and  would 
fain  have  recourse  once  more  to  his  strong 
arms.  And  so,  alternately  staggering,  bend 
ing,  crouching,  or  bounding  and  crashing 
on,  but  always  in  one  direction,  they  burst 
through  the  jealous  rampart,  and  came  upon 
the  sylvan  haunt  of  the  hidden  spring.  The 
great  angle  of  the  half-fallen  tree  acted  as  a 


234  IN  THE   CARQUJNEZ  WOODS. 

barrier  to  the  wind  and  drifting-  smoke,  and 
the  cool  spring  sparkled  and  bubbled  in  the 
almost  translucent  air.  lie  laid  her  down 
beside  the  water,  and  bathed  her  i'ace  and 
hands.  As  he  did  so  his  quiek  eye  caught 
sight  of  a  woman's  handkerchief  Iving  at  the 
foot  of  the  disrupted  root.  Dropping  Te 
resa's  hand,  he  walked  towards  it,  and  with 
the  toe  of  his  moccasin  gave  it  one  vigorous 
kiek  into  the  ooze  at  the  overflow  of  the 
spring.  He  turned  to  Teresa,  but  she  evi 
dently  had  not  noticed  the  act. 

'•Where  are  you  ?"  she  asked,  with  a 
smile. 

Something  in  her  movement  struck  him  ! 
He  came  towards  her,  and  bending  down 
looked  into  her  face.  "  Teresa  !  Good  God  ! 
—  look  at  me  !  What  has  happened  ?  " 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  his.  There  was  a 
slight  film  across  them  i  the  lids  were  black 
ened ;  the  beautiful  lashes  gone  forever ! 

u  I  see  you  a  little  now.  1  think,"  she  said, 
with  a  smile,  passing  her  hands  vaguely  over 


IN  THE   CAR QU INEZ   WOODS.  235 

his  face.  "  It  must  have  happened  when  he 
fainted,  and  I  had  to  drag  him  through  the 
blazing  brush ;  both  my  hands  were  full,  and 
I  could  not  cover  my  eyes." 

"  Drag  whom?  "  said  Low,  quickly. 

"Why,  Dunn." 

"  Dunn  !     He  here  ?  "  said  Low,  hoarsely. 

"  Yes ;  did  n't  you  read  the  note  I  left  on 
the  herbarium  ?  Did  n't  you  come  to  the 
camp-fire?"  she  asked  hurriedly,  clasping 
his  hands.  "  Tell  me  quickly  !  " 

"  No !  " 

"  Then  you  were  not  there  —  then  you 
did  n't  leave  me  to  die  ?  " 

"  No  !  I  swear  it,  Teresa !  "  the  stoicism 
that  had  upheld  his  own  agony  breaking 
down  before  her  strong  emotion. 

"  Thank  God  !  "  She  threw  her  arms 
around  him,  and  hid  her  aching  eyes  in  his 
troubled  breast. 

"  Tell  me  all,  Teresa,"  he  whispered  in 
her  listening  ear.  "  Don't  move  ;  stay  there, 
and  tell  me  all." 


236  IN  THE   CAKUrJXKZ    WOODS. 


With  her  face  1  juried  in  his  bosom,  as  if 
speaking  to  his  heart  alone,  she  told  him 
part,  but  not  all.  With  her  eyes  filled  with 
tears,  but  a  smile  on  her  lips,  radiant  with 
new-found  happiness,  she  told  him  how  she 
had  overheard  the  plans  of  Dunn  and  Brace, 
how  she  had  stolen  their  conveyance  to  warn 
him  in  time.  But  here  she  stopped,  dread 
ing  to  say  a  word  that  would  shatter  the  hope 
she  was  building  upon  his  sudden  revulsion 
of  feeling  for  Nellie.  She  could  not  bring 
herself  to  repeat  their  interview  —  that  would 
come  later,  when  they  were  safe  and  out  of 
danger;  now  not  even  the  secret  of  his  birth 
must  come  between  them  with  its  distraction, 
to  mar  their  perfect  communion.  She  fal 
tered  that  Dunn  had  fainted  from  weakness, 
and  that  she  had  dragged  him  out  of  danger. 
"  lie  will  never  interfere  with  us  —  1  mean," 
she  said  softly.  "'  with  tnc  again.  1  can  prom 
ise  you  that  as  well  as  if  he  had  sworn  it." 

"Let  him  pass,  now."  said  Low;  "that 
will  come  later  on,''  he  added,  unconsciously 


7;V  THE   CARQUINEZ  WOODS.  237 

repeating  her  thought  in  a  tone  that  made 
her  heart  sick.  "  But  tell  me,  Teresa,  why 
did  you  go  to  Excelsior  ?  " 

She  buried  her  head  still  deeper,  as  if 
to  hide  it.  He  felt  her  broken  heart  beat 
against  his  own ;  he  was  conscious  of  a  depth 
of  feeling  her  rival  had  never  awakened  in 
him.  The  possibility  of  Teresa  loving  him 
had  never  occurred  to  his  simple  nature. 
He  bent  his  head  and  kissed  her.  She  was 
frightened,  and  unloosed  her  clinging  arms  ; 
but  he  retained  her  hand,  and  said,  "  We 
will  leave  this  accursed  place,  and  you  shall 
go  with  me  as  you  said  you  would  ;  nor  need 
you  ever  leave  me,  unless  you  wish  it." 

She  could  hear  the  beating  of  her  own 
heart  through  his  words ;  she  longed  to  look 
at  the  eyes  and  lips  that  told  her  this,  and 
read  the  meaning  his  voice  alone  could  not 
entirely  convey.  For  the  first  time  she  felt 
the  loss  of  her  siffht.  She  did  not  know 

O 

that  it  was,  in  this  moment  of  happiness, 
the  last  blessing  vouchsafed  to  her  miserable 
life. 


238         AV  THE  CARQUIM:Z  WOODS. 

A  few  moments  of  silen-.'e  followed, broken 
only  by  the  distant  rumor  of  the  conflagra 
tion  and  the  crash  of  falling  boughs.  ••  It 
mav  l>e  an  hour  yet,"  he  whispered,  "before 
the  fire  has  swept  a  path  for  us  to  the  road 
below.  AN  e  are  sale  here,  unless  some  sud 
den  current  should  draw  the  fire  down  upon 
us.  You  are  not  frightened?'1  She  pressed 
his  hand  :  she  was  thinking  of  the  pale  face 
of  Dunn,  Ivin^  in  the  seeure  retreat  she  had 
purchased  for  him  at  such  a  sacrifice.  Yet 
the  possibility  of  danger  to  him  now  for  a 
moment  marred  her  present  happiness  and 
security.  "  You  think  the  fire  will  not  p) 
north  of  where  you  found  me?"  she  asked 
softly. 

"  I  think  not,"  he  said,  "but  I  will  recon 
noitre.  Stav  where  you  are. 

They  pressed  hands,  and  parted.  lie 
leaped  upon  the  slanting  trunk  and  ascended 
it  rapidly.  She  waited  in  mute  expectation. 

There  was  a  sudden  movement  of  the  root 
on  which  she  sat.  a  deafening  crash,  and  she 
was  thrown  forward  on  her  face. 


IN   THE   CARQU1NEZ   WOODS.  239 

The  vast  bulk  of  the  leaning  tree,  dislodged 
from  its  aerial  support  by  the  gradual  sap 
ping  of  the  spring  at  its  roots^  or  by  the 
crumbling  of  the  bark  from  the  heat,  had 
slipped,  made  a  half  revolution,  and,  falling, 
overbore  the  lesser  trees  in  its  path,  and  tore, 
in  its  resistless  momentum,  a  broad  opening 
to  the  underbrush. 

With  a  cry  to  Low,  Teresa  staggered  to 
her  feet.  There  was  an  interval  of  hideous 
silence,  but  no  reply.  She  called  again. 
There  was  a  sudden  deepening  roar,  the  blast 
of  a  fiery  furnace  swept  through  the  opening, 
a  thousand  luminous  points  around  her  burst 
into  fire,  and  in  an  instant  she  was  lost  in  a 
whirlwind  of  smoke  and  flame  !  From  the 
onset  of  its  fury  to  its  culmination  twenty 
minutes  did  not  elapse  ;  but  in  that  interval 
a  radius  of  two  hundred  yards  around  the 
hidden  spring  was  swept  of  life  and  light 
and  motion. 

For  the  rest  of  that  day  and  part  of  the 
night  a  pall  of  smoke  hung  above  the  scene 


240        IN  THE  CARQUINEZ  WOODS. 

of  desolation.  It  lifted  only  towards  the 
morning,  when  the  moon,  riding  high,  picked 
out  in  black  and  silver  the  shrunken  and 
silent  columns  of  those  rootless  vaults,  shorn 
of  base  and  capital.  It  flickered  on  the 
still,  overflowing  pool  of  the  hidden  spring, 
and  shone  upon  the  white  face  of  Low,  who, 
with  a  rootlet  of  the  fallen  tree  holding  him 
down  like  an  arm  across  his  breast,  seemed 
to  be  sleeping  peacefully  in  the  sleeping 
water. 

Contemporaneous  history  touched  him  as 
briefly,  but  not  as  gently.  "It  is  now  defi 
nitely  ascertained,"  said  "The  Sluingnllion 
]\lirror,"  "that  Sheriff  Dunn  met  his  fate  in 
the  Carquinez  Woods  in  the  performance  of 
his  duty  :  that  fearless  man  having  received 
information  of  the  concealment  of  a  band  of 
horse  thieves  in  their  recesses.  The  des 
peradoes  are  presumed  to  have  escaped,  as 
the  only  remains  found  are  those  of  two 
wretched  tramps,  one  of  whom  is  said  to 


JN  THE   CARQUINEZ    WOODS.  241 

have  been  a  digger,  who  supported  himself 
upon  roots  and  herbs,  and  the  other  a  de 
graded  half -white  woman.  It  is  not  unreason 
able  to  suppose  that  the  fire  originated 
through  their  carelessness,  although  Father 
Wynn  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  in  his 
powerful  discourse  of  last  Sunday,  pointed 
at  the  warning  and  lesson  of  such  catastro 
phes.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to 
say  that  the  rumors  regarding  an  engage 
ment  between  the  pastor's  accomplished 
daughter  and  the  late  lamented  sheriff  are 
utterly  without  foundation,  as  it  has  been  an 
on  dit  for  some  time  in  all  well-informed 
circles  that  the  indefatigable  Mr.  Brace,  of 
Wells,  Fargo  and  Co.'s  Express,  will  shortly 
lead  the  lady  to  the  hymeneal  altar." 

16 


